


Guns and Kisses || Sans Au x Reader x Papyrus Au

by Sh33tMeDead336 (orphan_account)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mobtale, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Alternate Universe - mafiatale, I Don't Even Know, Reverse Harem, Slow Burn, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:15:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 56,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Sh33tMeDead336
Summary: Mobtale spinoffYou belong to the Black Spades, an infamous gang throughout Ebott City. The Boss, your brother, is the only person who knows your name or who you are. To all else, your merely known as 'stitches'.Your his right hand (wo)man, his consigilere. Your responsible for representing the gang when your brother wasn't around and solving all the disputes within it. You were his most trusted advisor and his only family.Nobody knows exactly who you two are or where you came from. All anyone knows is that you built an empire from ruin, and for that your both feared and respected.But now the stakes have risen, The Black Spades are going toe to toe with their Rivals, The White Phantoms, where y/n encounters several skeleton monsters.Her loyalty will always lie with her Brother, but what will she do when she begins to develop a soft spot for the skeletons?Slow burn/slow introduction to the skeleton brothers. |Unedited|  Possibly triggering events and scenes.





	1. Chapter 1

You belong to the Black Spades, an infamous gang throughout Ebott City. The Boss, your brother, is the only person who knows your name or who you are. To all else, your merely known as 'stitches'. 

Your his right hand (wo)man, his consigilere. Your responsible for representing the gang when your brother wasn't around and solving all the disputes within it. You were his most trusted advisor and his only family.

Nobody knows exactly who you two are or where you came from. All anyone knows is that you built an empire from ruin, and for that your both feared and respected. 

You were currently attending a meeting held in one of the casinos in your territory, standing silently by your brothers side as he discussed terms with the mobboss of the Gold Knives, a gang who held most power over the cities construction companies. 

He was currently laying out our terms for the deal. In return for them allowing you free reign to build whatever you like in the south and eastern sides of the city with lowered tax, you would provide them free access to several of your  services, including, but not limited to;

Money laundering, passport and identity document forgery, a safehaven within your casinos along with lowered tax rate for your usual illegal arms dealing. 

The sharply dressed men in a suit and tie sat confidently on the other end of the table, hands held firmly together out on top of the table as they negotiated. 

"-With a 40% lowered tax rate-"

"-70."

Your brother shook his head sharply, rolling his shoulders and eyeing the man cautiously.

"50."

The greying man rebutted once again, now insisting on 60. Your brother paused, and you could tell he was considering it. 

After a moment longer of tense silence, your brother broke the silence, "I believe we've come to an agreement, very well, 60% it is."

A younger man, short army cut blonde hair, green eyes and half a face covered in tattoos stood silently beside his mob boss, Tony Vanderwick. He set the leather briefcase he was previously holding on the table, flicking open the locks and began to pull out paperwork. Setting the contracts in front of the two males neatly, ringing from someones phone interupted the meeting.

A sigh escaped your brother before he pulled out his phone and handed it too you without even glancing at the screen.

"Take care of that for me."

You nodded silently before exiting the room and closing the door behind you. You answered the call before heading down the hallway a little further.

"Rodger, what do you need?"

"The Boss Busy?"

"In a meeting."

There was a moment of silence before the man continued to speak, "Several of our men working inside the White Phantoms have been comprimised. They've been taken and assumingly being interrogated in one of the storehouses by the docks."

"Have any of them said anything?"

"We don't know."

"Can we afford to cut them loose?"

"...one of them is Birdie."

You pull the phone away from your ear and consider your options. Birdie was a loyal and valuable asset to the Black Spades. He knew to much to risk him telling anyone.

"Create a team and wait at the base, i'll consult the boss."

"Of course."

You hung up the call and quickly walked back to the office, opening and closing the door soundlessly.

Both men stand from their seats, reaching over the table and giving each other a firm handshake before speaking the usual formalities.

You took to your brothers side and wait, adjusting the mask that covered the majority of your face except the slit across your eyes to sit properly.

The Two men began packing up and Ash (that's your brothers nickname) leaned over in your direction so you could silently consult him.

You briefly explained the situation and he gave you permission to continue forward with the raid. It would be too risky to use anyone else on the inside or it would risk also having them comprimised. 

You gave your brother back his phone before preparing to leave. You exit the room and walked hasitly down the hallway and downstairs, pulling the revolver from your waist band and flipping open the barrel and checking it was loaded.

Putting the gun back away before concealing it behind your leather jacket you swung open the door to your white BMW M5 and starting up the engine.

-

A small group of twelve including yourself had been briefed and properly armed before taking to the cars and speeding to the location.

The twelve of you split up into groups of two, as Damian, a dark haired and eyed male partnered up with you. 

You took to the back door, reaching out and quietly trying the handle. It was locked. You glanced back at Damian and moved out of the way as he dropped the bag that was previously on his back and pulled out the crowbar that was hanging out.

Damian wedges the crowbar in before prying the door open with a loud BANG.

The two of your freeze. Voices quickly approach your direction from inside, so much for a surprise raid.

Both of you pulled out your guns and charged in, snagging Damians bag with you before quickly coming face to face with two other burly men. The first shot was let loose by Damian, serving as a signal from the rest of our group to charge in. 

Gun shots fired from every direction. You aimed at the first mans forehead before pulling on the trigger, Damian finishing off the other. It was all a race to see who could pull the trigger faster. 

The two of you separate as you help take down as many of the rival gang as possible, narrowly avoiding bullets before one grazed your left arm.

You hissed before swallowing the pain and continuing forward. If you couldn't locate the two other people compromised, you at least needed to retrieve Birdie, alive. You needed to know what they had said.

You find yourself in a more calmer area of the storehouses, no one could be seen with gunshots and screaming echoing in the distance. Hands held firmly around your gun you search the area.

Kicking down doors and checking rooms. Knocking down another door appeared to lead to some sort of makeshift offices, or file room. You had limited time but had no doubts there would be some valuable information here. Glancing behind you and up and down the hallway only to find it clear, you shut the door behind you before picking up the files sprawled messily across the desk. 

This place couldnt be their base of operations, The white Phantoms were a wealthy gang, so why is their information stored here?

You inspect the first few files, names, contact details, records, incriminating evidence...

Hold up. You scan through another file before your eyes widened. You drop the files and practically fling yourself at the cabinets, pulling out files and searching through them. Holy shit.

This was blackmail gold.

You glance back at Damians bag you had taken with you. There was no way you could fit them all in there. You could only hope this raid would end in your favour and allow everyone else to carry the rest with them.

You pick up the files on the desk, rationally deciding they were probably the most important. Empting the bag of all its previous contents you forced in as many files as possible. 

Once the bag was bursting at the seams you forced the straps over your shoulders and hurrying out of the room, glancing back a final time before continue to search for the spies.

 A loud growl ripped through the air from behind you, you swung around just narrowly dodging a...bone?

Ten feet in front of you towered at least a seven foot skeletal monster, dressed professionally in red and black, upon closer inspection blood could clearly be seen staining a great portion of his clothes, including his black polished boots.

The Skeleton scowled at you before summoning several other sharpend bones, forcing you to jump side to side to avoid them. Lifting your gun to point at the man a bone suddenly knocked it out of your hand. The gun clacked across the concrete floor and slid over behind you out of your reach.  

You grit your teeth before staring down the monster. You charged at the skeletan, much to his surprise and toppled over on top of him. 

The skeleton hit the ground heavily and you fell on top of him cradling his ribs. In his confusion you lifted your dominate hand and prepare to swing down at his face. Just as your hand almost brushed his face you were flung backwards and your back hit the wall.

A pain rippled from the center of your back and you knew that would leave a nasty bruise. Groaning you quickly spun to your feet, ducking just in time to not be impaled by a bone through the neck.

You glanced at your gun and quickly lept for it. Your body hit the ground harshly and your fingers wrapped around the gun. Sitting up you aim the gun at his chest, just as a bone came soaring in your direction, and pulled the trigger.

The attack immediately dissipated and in a instant everything was silent. You watched the skeleton carefully, standing to your feet, gun still pointing in his direction. 

The monsters face twisted from surprise to absolute rage, he lifted a single arm in the air as if to summon another bone, before somehow chocking on air and falling forward to his knees.

The bullet had hit him square in chest, right where a human heart would have otherwise been located. The skeleton began to gasp for air, you would have questioned this, if you hadnt already known a fair bit about general monster anatomy.

While they didn't need to breath, they generally did anyway. 

Guess you could say they were a literal waste of oxygen. 

That was a joke. You have nothing against monsters in general, you just possessed a rather insensitive sense of humour.

The skeleton wheezed and you considered putting him out of his misery. You hadn't ever killed a monster before, even seen one die. You knew they turned to dust, and frankly, you didnt feel like having to see it anytime sooner then necessary. 

You spun on your heel and walked down the hallway back to where you had originally came from. The gunshots and yelling had died down and you were curious to see how it played out.

Several bodies littered the floor, both monster and human alike. Crimson coated the floor, glittering as an effect of the mix of monster dust.

Huh. Monster dust was prettier then you originally thought it would be.

"Stitches!"

You glanced to your 6 to find Rodgers, one of the gangs capo's. Next to him was Birdie, bloodied and hurt. Their arms wrapped around each other as Birdie hobbled away.

You walk up to assist them, Birdies free arm wrapping around your shoulders.

"Did you find the others?"

"We got Trigger, but Hook didn't make it."

You nodded solemly, exiting the building and helping Birdie in the side of your car.

"Rodgers," you called, gaining his attention.

"Gather whose left, there was an office filled with valuable files and we need to take them back with us."

"Right away."

You glanced back at Birdie who was breathing heavily, eyes closed and clutching his side. He should be fine, for now. Throwing your bag in the back seat you shut the drivers door closed and head back inside.

Other then Rodgers and you, only three others of the original group survived the shoot out. you menovured your way around the bodies, careful not to get blood on your shoes. 

Just as you were about to head down a hallway you spot Damian's motionless courpse. You hestitated a second to look at him before leading everyone to the office. 

Everybody carried everything they could and dumped it in the back of your car. Two of the group having to go back again to retrieve the rest.

You couldn't leave just yet. You would have to burn the place. Usually your brother liked to get in and help with activities such as these-hence his nickname, but there was no time for dawdling. The police around the ports usually stayed out of things like this, sated with bribes, but it was better safe then sorry.

"Do you have everything?" You glanced at Rodgers questioningly, in which he nodded in response.

"Good."

You spun on your heel as Rodgers barked orders at everyone, assumingly to burn the place down as you head towards your car. Putting on your seat belt and starting it up you reach over at Birdie who had now passed out to check his vitals.

Fainter then what it should be, but he'd survive. Driving off you head towards the hospital in your territory, where there were several doctors that had been paid off to help members of your gang.

-

Birdie has been assigned a private room and was currently asleep in a hospital bed. His vital signs had stabilized, you were currently just waiting for him to wake up.

You sat in one of the seats, studying the males unconscious face while you patiently wait. Rodgers had shown up a few hours ago and took over guard duty while you went to get your graze patched up. There wasnt much the doctor could do for the bruise except put some cream on it. 

Rodgers was currently scrolling through his phone, obviously bored. Usually members of your gang wouldn't be so casual around their higher ups, but Rodger has gotten to know you, to some degree, to realize you were pretty laid back the vast majority of the time.

You had given your brother a phone call earlier to update him on the situation, he had given you specific orders to de-brief Birdie as soon as he woke up before returning home. For now, you and Rodgers would have to watch over him, in case someone tried to finish him off before you could get any information from him. 

About half an hour later the Sandy brown haired male began to stir. Rodger glanced up from his phone, before pocketing it and sitting forward in his seat. 

You straightened as Birdie opened his eyes, closing them a few times asked he adjusted to the light. 

"Hello, Birdie."

The male snapped his head towards your direction quickly enough to get whiplash. Upon seeing you and Rodgers he instantly relaxed.

You stood from your seat and approach the bed, deciding you had enough time to not have to get straight to the point.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like Shit," He chuckled, a small smile tugging on your lips, watching him sit up in his bed.

"So, tell me, -from the beginning, what happened?"

 

Birdie and Hook were standing together at the base, supervising the workers packaging and storing the military grade weaponry. Trigger had been sent out on a job along with several others, as apparently, members from another gang were seen trespassing their territory. It was just another routine scouting, nothing too out of the ordinary. 

Then Alphys walked in, the White Phantoms mobbosses consigilere. Almost nobody saw the boss, so to have Alphys walk in, meant that something BIG, was up. 

Both Birdie and Hook kept calm and continued as they were, only glancing nervously at each other when the woman stood directly in front of them.

"Jackson and Isaac I-i presume?" 

The men glanced down at the yellow scaled monster, before Birdie nodded firmly and tried to relax.

"Your going to have to-uh, y-you'll be coming with me." 

"Of course, but what for, may I ask?" 

"I-i can't sa-... J-just don't worry about it..." 

A lump began to form in Birdies throat, he glanced at Hook who was nervously wringing his hands behind his back before following the monster.

The two followed Dr.Alphys outside, and got inside a car, which was being driven by just some regular worker. They drove down to the warehouse down at the docks, being taken down hallways and passed rooms completely unfamiliar to them

They didn't know the details, but they already knew they were in some serious trouble.

Finally, the entered a room. It was completely dark and nothing could be seen. Hooks glanced back nervously at Alphys, who avoided his gaze, before shutting the door behind her.

The two looked around the room for a second, waiting for their eyes to adjust. 

Hook was about to turn around and open the door to leave when someone interrupted him.

"I wouldnt do that if i were you."

Hook pauses, hand hovering above the handle. The two males tense before hooks turned back around and squinting to try to find whoever spoke.

"What are we doing here?" 

There was a pause, and for a split second they thought perhaps they simply imagined the voice.

"It has come to our attention that we have moles, within our organization."

The voice was smooth and articulate, but also cold like steel, able to pierce through you at any moment.

Hook and Birdie tensed. 

Hook quickly spun on his heel to try and get away, only to run face first into the chest of somebody.

More specifically, a skeleton monster.

The skeleton glared down menacingly at the two, his mouth permantly twisted into a scowl. 

"It also has come to our attention, that YOU, are the moles," the voice spoke accusingly at the two from behind them, "And we can't have you wandering around doing as you like, now can we?"

The light flickered on, the skeleton approached the two and caused them to back up, before hooks ran into something and fell over. 

It was Trigger. Face swollen and coated in sticky semi-dry blood, currently sitting unconscious bound to a seat with rope.

Another figure approached, another skeletal man, with two scar like cracks, one going up vertically from his right eyesocket and one going down from his left.

"W-who the fuck are you?" Hook cried, struggling to stand to his feet. 

The shorter of the two monsters, the one with the cold voice, ignored his question and simply walked by them, placing a hand on the door handle, before pausing.

"You may begin, Edge."

He then pushed the door open and closed it again, with an audible click of the lock.

"What did you tell them?"

Birdie paused, squeezing his eyes shut before meeting your gaze again, "I didn't tell them anything, and I dont know about Trigger-but Hooks... 

He gave them the Boss's name."


	2. Chapter 2

You hold the phone up to your ear and sped walked down the hospital hallway, down stairs and towards the front entry. 

Rodgers said he would take care of guard duty while you head off to find your brother.

They knew Ash's name. Not his real name, but rather the name he had put on his forged identity papers. The was no way anyone could know either yours or your brothers birth given names- no one had so much as uttered them in years.

Eyes scanning the carpark you locate your car, unlocking it and hopping inside. From the corner of your eye you notice the blood staining your passenger seat, a frown tugging on your lips. It would otherwise be hard to find a cleaning company sufficent enough as to clean blood from white leather, but you knew a few people.

Your teeth grit as the call goes to your brothers voicemail. You click dial again, driving out of the hospital carpark faster the necessary.

Just as the call was about to reach voicemail again your brother picked up, much to your relief.

"Bro?"

"Yes?"

"Listen, Hooks gave up your name to the White Phantom gang, meaning our house address and all publicly accessable information about you either is-or will be known by them."

"...Alright. Thank you for letting me know, I will bring what's most valuable with me and meet you back at base."

You squint at your phone, considering whether meeting him at the house would be a better option. Despite him being your younger brother, you trusted him to know what he was doing.

" Okay Then, Stay Safe." 

"Ha! When am I ever safe in a business such as this?"

"Tch. Point taken, you know what I mean."

"Of course. See you soon." 

The Phone call ended, your grip on the steering wheel tightening. You knew you were stressing over nothing, you always did when it came to your brother, but it was within your nature as the elder sister. Despite only being four years older then him, your practically raised that boy.

You took a left at the lights, the opposite direction of your home and towards the base. While your home was currently unsafe to stay at, your name hasn't been put on any documents to show that you also lived there. 

So as long as anyone knew, you and your brother had no ties whatsoever.

You, of course, would have to handle finding them somewhere to stay before organizing a new permanent home for the both of you. 

Now that everything seemed to be covered, you had only one thing more to figure out, in which being how exactly your men were found out. You had a pretty good idea.

-

Next to you stood Rodger and another man, tall, lanky and dressed sharply like the majority of those who welded authority. Jason, Ash's underboss.

You informed the three males of your suspicion and they seemed to agree completely.

"Who could the mole be?" Rodger questioned

"Who knew we had agents that had infiltrated the White Phantoms?" You reply with a better question.

The three of you all pause to listen to Ash speak, "All of us, of course, along with all three of our Caporegime's (Capo's)."

"Well, it couldn't have been Birdie."

"Obviously."

That left Anitony and Metalhead, the two other Capo's.

"So, we'll be questioning both of them?" Jason questioned your brother, in which he nodded solemly.

"Who will interrogate them?" 

Your brother glanced at you, usually you'd be more the willing to take care of matters such as these, but upon seeing your contemplatve expression decided it best to give it to someone else.

"Ryan can take care of it," Ash informed Jason, before waving you all out of the room.

Jason and Rodger left the office and you were about to follow suit when your brother called out for you. You turned around before approaching his desk.

"Yes?"

"What do you think?"

You paused, meeting Ash's gaze, his eyes the same e/c as yours.

"It wasn't Rodger or Birdie, that's for sure. So rationally speaking it would either be Anitony or Metalhead, but what if it wasn't?" 

"What are you implying?"

"Jason."

Ash stared at you disbelievingly, "Are you suggesting Jason, my underboss, and friend for nearly five years is the mole?"

"Not necessarily, but we should certainly take him into account."

Ash stared at you for another second before covering his face with his hands and rubbing his temples. Despite your sometimes doubtful theories, he also trusted you. He nodded at you briefly and a smile tugged at your lips before he changed the subject.

"So those files you found, what of them?"

"They appear to hold records and possibly incriminating evidence against many characters living in the city."

"So, blackmail? That's what The White Phantoms were doing?"

"It appears that way."

"Where are the files now?"

"Being sorted and stored away as we speak." 

Your brother nodded and dismissed you, you turned to leave when you were yet again interrupted.

"Hey, uh, berry?" Your brothers tone was softer, kinder, then his usual one. Obviously meaning it was one of those rare moments where he was out of his usual mob boss mode. He also used your childhood nickname. You Hadn't heard it in years.

"Yeah?" You raised an eyebrows questioningly at him, curious as to see what he'd say.

"I know there's been a lot going on lately, but you know...It's still family night."

You expression softened. You had been so busy, you had completely forgotten. 

"Of course. What were you thinking?"

"There's this new fancy Italian restaurant downtown in neutral territory. I thought maybe we could go grab some dinner?" 

A smile tugged on your lips, "That sounds great bro. It's been too long."

Ash nodded, a warm smile similar to yours also spread across his features.

You left his office and headed back to your own. You would have to move a few appointments to other times and leave a few tasks till later, but nothing you couldn't manage. Anything for your little bro.

-

You entered the building, your brother standing casually by your side. He was dressed nicely in a black suit and tie, hair slicked and smelled faintly of pinewood.

It was his favourite perfume.

You entered the building together, being taken to a seat in the far back left corner of the restaurant, just out of sight of everyone else.

Taking your seat you notice that the building was quite full. A low buzz of conversation flowing throughout the room and a light sound of music playing behind it.

This place must be popular.

"So, how are you feeling?" You brother questioned, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Heh, as the older sister dont you think I should be the one asking you that?"

"Of course not, you have the right to be taken care of as well."

You gave you brother a small smile, sipping on your glass of water.

"I've been fine, busy."

"How're those injuries of yours doing? Are they bad?"

You shook your head, putting your glass back down, "just a graze and a few bruises. Nothing that won't heal."

You brother nodded in acknowledgement, visably relaxing in his seat before sighing in content. "It's been too long since we've last been properly able to talk, as y'know, family." 

"Mhm," you hummed in agreement before changing the subject, "So is it true? You've been interested in pursuing some girl?" 

Ash tensed and his jaw dropped, "how do you know about her?"

You snicker, "word gets around." 

You brother sighed yet again before picking up his own glass of water. "Her name is Yanny, i've known her for a while, and think I might try to take things further." 

"Does she know?"

Your brother shook his head, automatically knowing what you meant. 

"No. I don't want to scare her away, i'll tell her who I am when the time is right."

A woman then approached your table, hair pulled back in a black bun as she held out a notepad and a pen.

"Welcome! Is there anything I can get for the two of you?"

You glanced down at the menu in front of you, ordering the first thing that catches your eye and Ash doing the same.

The woman then left, taking your menu's with her before the two of you resume your conversation.

"So anyway, i've been thinking. Now that I might... Have someone else around in my life, I think it would be for the better if we both lived in separate homes."

You blinked, taking in what he said. He..wanted to live by himself?

You sigh. He wasn't a scared, hopeless little kid anymore. He was an adult, the boss of an infamous gang, he was more then capable of taking care of himself.

"-of course, I still would wish for you to live nearby. If I know one thing for certain, there is nothing, more important than family. I just think this would be for the best."

You nod your head, your smile growing. A pang of pain ached in your heart, but you knew he was right. 

"Alright, anything for you bro." 

Ash chuckled in agreement.

"But I want to meet this mystery girl of yours!" You said, pointing a finger at him accusingly. 

"Definitely. I think you will like her." 

"Damn right I better." 

"Tch." 

You get distracted when your gaze lands on the back of that of a skeleton. Not the one you had killed, neither the one decribed to you by birdie, instead, he was about a 4'4 big boned monster dressed smartly in a suit and hat, with at least a 7' lankier skeleton by his side. 

Neither caught your gaze, but as the smaller one began to turn around in your direction you instantly turn back to face your brother.

Were they also apart of the White Phantom gang? If so, not only should you not be seen with your brother, but he shouldn't be out and about at all!

Determined to not ruin a good evening with your brother you ignore their presence, thankful your brother was facing away from them.

Another waiter apprpached your table, this time with both your meals, placing them down in front of the both of you carefully with a small clank against the wood.

You thanked the waiter and don't bother to watch them walk away as you try your chosen food. You notice Ash got some sort of seafood mariana dish. 

He used to hate seafood, both of you did. Lately it seems to almost be a favourite of his. 

A buzz goes off on your phone in your handbag. You glance down at it before meeting your brothers gaze. With a flick of the hand as permission to look at it you pull your phone out of your bag before reading the message.

From: Rodgers

At: 7:43pm

It was Jason. Get here quick.

You frown in annoyance before showing your brother your phone.

"What's the point of being a mob boss if you have to do everything yourself?" He muttered in irritance before shoving a last mouthful of pasta in his mouth and standing up. 

You go to reach for your wallet but Ash stops you, pulling out his own and giving the required amount along with a generous tip.

Swinging your bag over your arm the both of you head to the exit in a casual pace, so as to avoid drawing attention.

Your brother had a head start and was already walking passed the reception desk, while you were yet to pass by the skeleton's table.

As you pass you catch the eyes of the taller skeleton, who me your gaze and gave you a polite smile in which you reciprocated before looking away.

That skeleton, you knew him. His was running for head of office. Papyrus Serif. 

Was it racist to assume of two skeletal monsters where in a gang then therefore all skeletons were also? The answer is yes, it's very racist.

It is just that skeletons monsters a rare. In fact, you didnt even know they existed until your first encounter.

Catching up to your brother, he holds the car door open and closes it for you once your safely inside. Winding up your shaded window you pull over your usual clothes on top of your dressier ones, along with your mask.

You had arranged for the both of you to stay at one of your safehouses that night, but it appeared that neither of you would be sleeping for a while.

-

"How do you know?"

Rodgers look back from Ash, to you, before ensuring the door was properly locked and running a hand through his red hair.

"I saw him in the storage unit, where we put all those files. He talking to someone on the phone-Gaster, I think. He was searching through the files, I think he was looking for one."

"Did he find it?"

"I don't think so."

You stood in silence as the two talked, trying to figure out a solution to the problem.

"-We need to do this quietly," you cut in, causing both males to pause and instead pay attention to you, "If Jason is the mole, The White Phantoms already know where our base is located. We need to take him quietly and start to relocate everything even quieter."

Ash nodded, before looking back at Rodgers, "Get two of your best men. Get Jason-dont let anyone know, and bring him back to the safehouse with us." 

Rodgers nodded before quickly hurrying off to work, Ash then turned back to face you, "Tell everyone to pack up, bring everything to the emergency warehouse." 

You too, leave the room to go follow your orders, heading over the the man who supervised the workers and telling him the plan.

He nodded before he started to bellow out loud orders to everyone. You, on the other hand, would take care of the files. 

You didn't trust any of the workers currently to do so.

Pulling open the storage unit your eyes meet with boxes full of files. You walk inside and quickly flick through a few, in attempts to see if any were taken.

Picking up the largest box you step outside and hurry off to load up your car.

The day so far has been an especially long and exhausting one. Rivalling with the White Phantoms has kept you all on your toes, and work was almost non stop.

Back and forth you carried the boxes, by the time you had finished your forehead was slick with sweat and you had to take a second to catch your breath. 

You head back to lock the storage unit then walk back to base to check how thingd were progressing.

The warehouse was in a state of organized chaos. The place looked like a warzone to the untrained eye, but you knew that everybody here knew what they were doing. Only the most capable joined your gang.

After all, your only as good as your worst worker. 

Several vans and mini trucks had pulled up out back. You decided to help load everything up before heading to the safehouse.


	3. Chapter 3

You and your brother heaved the boxes back and forth from your car to your brothers new temporary office. 

Boxes lined the wall and stacked on top of each other on the desk. The safe house was a three stories high (Plus a basement), seven bedroom, sandstone lined walled, 3 actre fully secured live in base. One of the four safehouses you owned in Ebott City, and the most luxurious. 

After moving the last of the boxes, your brother sat down in the black wheelie seat behind the desk, inspecting the room quietly. 

"We need to give both our Capos, Anitony and Metalhead a personal apology for our questioning of their loyalty," you broke the silence, verbally making a checklist of things needing to be done.

"Of course, invite them over for dinner first thing tomorrow. It is important we  keep all of our ties strong," you nodded in response while waiting patiently for your brother to continue as he sat with his chin in his hand, "We will of course, have to now be cautious around all of our workers and allies until we are sure there are no more moles."

You nodded in reply, before adding "Rodgers and his men should be in the basement with Jason as we speak. Should we go down?" 

"I'll meet you down there. I just need to make a few phone calls." 

Spinning on your heel you leave the room, closing the door behind you as to give him some privacy before heading downstairs.

Entering the basement your shoes tap against the concrete stairs and all eyes are drawn on you. Jason was tied up to a chair situated underneath the rooms only light.

Rodgers stood in front of Jason, his men either side of him and hands held firmly on their guns before relaxing upon noticing the new presence  was an ally.

Jason was conscious and obviously outraged, but was currently unscathed as Rodgers waited for his orders.

"Stitches! What's going on here!"

You ran your eyes over Jason's form, causing him to visably shudder. You approached Jason and Rodgers moved to the side for you. Staring directly down to meet his gaze, Jasons jaw opens to speak again but firmly closes it upon noticing the dark glint in your eye, and instead remains quiet, trying to maintain your stare.

"Where's his phone?" You questioned holding your hand out toward Rodgers, in which he firmly placed Jason's phone in your grasp. "Did you find anything?"

"There appears to be several suspicious contacts and messages on his phone. We have people tracing them now." 

Clicking onto messages on the already unlocked phone Jason interupted your searching with pleading, in which you blantantly ignored.

 

Unknown contact number (2)

Find the file. We'll meet you behind the construction site south of penceal street at 11pm tommorow.

Make sure no one follows you. Don't be late.

 

You glance up from the phone, noticing Jasons nervous glare.

"Why'd you do it?" You questioned, handing the phone back to Rodgers without looking away.

Jason merely remained quiet.

"Don't make this harder on yourself then it has to be."

"We both know that I'm not walking away from this."

"That doesn't mean you can't have a painless death. Talk to us, friend. We can show you mercy."

Jason sneered at looked away, "I've seen you do this work before, I know how this goes. I've seen you do it thousands of times."

"The White Phantoms," You started, immediately causing him to tense, which confirmed that it was truly them he was working for, "Who are you working for?"

"..."

"What file do they need?"

"..."

You sigh and squatted, reaching out and moving his face to look you square in the eye, "Listen, out of whatever trust, or loyalty, or friendship you and my brother had; Talk to us. There might even be a end to this that doesn't involve you being carried away in a body bag." 

Jasons eyes hardened, head pulling back before he spat on you.

You paused, before standing to your feet and wiping the spit off your face with your sleeve. You swallowed your annoyance out of respect of his hard dedication to your Brother for the past four or so years.

"Alright then, fine. But I have just one last question before Rodgers and his men will take over," you paused and glanced at the three standing men, all of them straightening their postures, "Why the White Phantoms? Our rivals? Was it money? Power? What did they have that we didn't?"

"..." 

You rubbed your temples and turned on your heel before heading up the stairs, waving you hand at Rodgers as permission to start. "My brother will be down soon, to speak to you a last time." 

Shutting the basement door you head towards the kitchen, where the pantry was no doubt nearly or completely empty. Pulling out a glass cup and filling it up with water, you sat on the counter and sipped at it mindlessly.

Pulling out your phone, you notice the time, 11:12pm. Scrolling through your contacts and clicking on the one named 'Chef'

 

Apologies for the how late it is, and the short notice, but we will require your services tomorrow for dinner and dessert for five. You will need to bring your own ingredients and supplies. You will be paid double your usual price for the inconvenience. 

We will send someone to pick you up at 2 so you can have early preparation. Kind Regards, Cadence. (The fake name you go by In public).

 

You would wait to call Your brothers Capo's until tomorrow, after their loyalty was proven, the least you could do is allow them to rest. You pondered silently, you wondered if they would find anything after tracing the messages, and if so, what they would find.

You wondered why Jason would betray your brother like this, and most importantly, you wondered what was so important about that file Jason was looking for.

You would have to keep the files very secure until you found it. You could only hope the interrogation would be fruitful. 

-

You sat to your brothers right, who sat at the head of the table. In front of you, was Rodgers, who now would be Ash's new underboss. Beside Rodger was Metal head and beside you was Anitony.

Both Metalhead and Anitony appeared a little roughed up, but the worst extent of their injuries was a few bad bruises-nothing that wouldnt heal. Both men were dressed sharply, and were evidently on edge, by their tense restlessness.

After finishing the usual formalities, food was presented and everybody helped themselves generouslly, except both Capo's, who needed a bit of encouragement. You flashed them a polite smile and nodded towards the large amounts of food available for them to take, which seemed to ease their nerves as they pilled their plates alike everyone else.

You might be nicknamed Stitches, but you were known to be very friendly company to your allies and friends. If you were smiling at them, they could take it as a sign for good things to come.

" I suppose I should just cut to the chase. We invited you both here as a formal apology for the events of yesterday," Both males appeared to relax before straightening in new found confidence and respect, "We had discovered a mole and unfortunately suspicion was placed on the both of you wrongly. I would like to make up for that."

All attention was placed on your brother, you knew he would make up for his mistake somehow, he just hadnt told you with what  yet.

"We will be giving you both several grand and new quarters for your own running of operations as compensation of your troubles."

You almost choke on the drink you were sipping on. That was...generous. Apparently both Metalhead and Anitony thought so too, as both appeared baffled.

"I-we,-" 

Anitony was cut off as your brother continued to speak, "But that is not all we have come to discuss. It has come to light, that Jason Revelie, my underboss, was the mole. It has been decided that Rodger, will be taking his position."

Your brother paused, allowing both males to register his words before continuing, "As Don, I must comend all three of you on your dedication and loyalty to the Black Spades. I would like to personally assure all of you, for as long as you do, power, riches and protection, will all be within your right."

Both Anitony and Metalhead nodded at your brother, before the latter spoke up, "Of course. We follow you, and only you Boss." You brother appeared satisfied with that answer.

All five of you continued to finish your meals, before your plates were taken and dessert brought out. In front of you was a variety of fruit and caramel tarts, along with chocolate lava cake. 

The chocolate melted on your tongue, and the freshness of the berries helped make sure the chocolate wasnt too overpowering. Overall, the food was definitely worth the amount you were paying (a significantly hefty price too).

Bidding the three guests goodbye you assisted the chef taking everything back into the kitchen, but left them to wash everything themselves, waiting for them to leave.

Rodgers and his men had only gotten a little bit of information from Jason, consisting only of the location of The White Phantoms base of operations. Although a significant feat in your favour, you knew he knew more.

Tonight you were going to the location Jason was meant to meet at. Several snipers would be situated on top of the construction sight and would secure the area, while you head in too meet with whoever directly.

But first, you needed to try and get as much out of Jason as possible.

Once it was just you and Ash in the house, you started downstairs to continue Rodgers session with Jason. Cracking your knuckles with a satisfying 'pop', you swung the basement door behind you and walked to face the man.

Jolted awake from the slam of the door, he simply greeted you with several profanities.

You chuckled in response, "Quite a colourful vocabulary you have today."

"Fuck off."

Jasons left eye was swollen and painted in blood, he breathed heavily and his clothes hung loosly on his exhausted frame. Overall, he appeared as if he'd been hit with a bat all over repeatedly.

"Sleep well?"

Aarght spt.

You glanced down at your shoes now covered in spit and sigh. The blood he was coated in was dry, and he looked well enough to not being numb anymore.

Pulling the knife from the helt of your ankle you let Jason eye the object warily. 

You found the old fashion beating not as efficient.

Faster then he could blink you plugged the knife in his left thigh causing him to bite his own tongue in attempt to muffle the yell. Crouching down to his level you stared him dead in the eyes as you rewrapped you hand over the hilt of the blade to get a better grip, before twisting the knife in his leg.

Jason choked on his own tongue and screamed. You couldnt say if was very girly, he did have a particularly deep voice. 

It only lasted a few seconds before the screaming became muffled whimpers as blood gushed from his thigh.

"What file were you looking for?"

"G-go fuck yourself." 

You twisted the knife until you almost made a full circle, "WHAT file, were you look for!?"

Instead of an answer he just screamed. You grunted, allowing him to calm down before abruptly pulling it from his leg, causing it to bleed twice as face.

"Tell me what that file was and who it's for, or I'll let you bleed out, all alone."

"G-," He started before coughing on air, "Good."

You stared at him for another second, watching as he tried to force back tears. It was strange seeing him like this, Jason was always a man of composure.

A sigh escaped you lips as you stood back up and walked behind him, where he couldn't see you. Flipping your knife over to the serrated side you put the knife in the nook between his ear and head.

"Start talking or i'm going to saw your ear off, and i'll make sure to take my time too." 

Jason visably tensed , "N-no."

You raised an eyebrow, he was brave, you could give him that. If only he used he that determination to a better use.

Just as you were about to pull the knife back to begin to saw, ringing went off. It wasn't your ring tone either. Pulling Jason's phone  out of your back pocket you check who it was.

'My Flower'

You glanced up questioningly at Jason. As far as you or your brother knew he was single.

You showed Jason the screen, "Who's this?"

His eyes widen, before he managed to choke out legiable words, "No one." 

You snickered, "Alright, well, I want you to speak to this 'No one'. If you try anything-even to get them to hang up, I swear to god i'll stab out your eyes."

Giving him his warning, you pressed 'answer' before putting the call on speaker. Moving the phone closer to his face, along with the knife, a threat to not try anything.

"Babe? Where are you? I haven't heard from you in two days!"

" I'm just caught up with work right now, you know me." 

You heard a sigh from the other side of the phone before the girl started to speak again, "Anyway, after you drop that file off you should come visit me, stay the night if you catch my drift," she giggled.

You choked down a laugh, covering it up with a cough, thankfully quiet enough for whoever was on the other side to miss.

Jason appeared to pale, knowing very well that there was no way you missed the first part.

"Not right now my flower, I need to go okay?"

"Aw, alright. Are you okay? You sound off."

"I'm fine, just remember how much I l-l-" he once again choked on his words, as tears finally slipped down his face, " -How much I love you."

"What? Are you crying? Baby what's wrong? Where are yo-"

You hung up, cutting the woman off before putting the phone back in your pocket. Your phone goes off again, no doubt her trying to call again.

"That your girlfriend huh?"

Jason was quiet at first, appearing to be thinking about something, "Fiance."

"Heh. And she is with the White Phantoms? Is that why you betrayed us?"

 

"..I'm sorry."

Your eyes softened, so he did it for love. You can't say you really understand that concept of love outside of family bonds, so instead you viewed love like loyalty. 

He was helping the one he felt most loyal to.

But that doesn't change anything.

"It's too late for apologies now, and you know it."

"I'm so sorry!" He choked out another sob, as a few tears became a water works, "just please, D-don't hurt.. Don't touch her!"

"We won't have to if you just tell me everything you know."

"Promise me... Promise me you won't hurt her..."

"..."

"Please..."

"I promise."

-

You had updated your brother, informing him of everything Jason had said. He had taken it well and immediately started making phone calls to put it too use while you went to meet 'Blue' and some person Jason apparently never got the name of.

Blue was also apparently some sort of monster. Which isn't surprising, The White Phantoms are massively for monsters, rather then the majority of gangs who were against.

Your gang had no public opinion on them. You, personally, merely saw monsters like you saw everybody else; as people.

You just happen to not like people.

You pulled up outside the construction sight, number plates taken off and your face properly covered. Pulling the hood up further on you face you go where your supposed to meet. You give minutes early, and nobody was there. 

You quickly glanced down at your phone, you had recieved a message.

 

We're in place.

 

Turning your phone back off you pocket it before waiting patiently.

"YOUR NOT THE HUMAN WE'RE LOOKING FOR."

You turn your head to the side, behind you were two figures, one relatively tall and the other the size of a child.

Spinning fluently on your feet you come to a hault and face the two.

"I'm aware."

"I take it Jason has been comprimised?" The taller one asked.

You nodded in response.

The smaller one jumped closer to you boldly, but not in a way that appeared threatening, luckily so for him, or else you imagine he would be showered in bullets.

Now closer up, you could make out his features, he was very pale, clad in blue with the same coloured ribbon wrapped around his neck, and had two pinpricks for eyes....

He was also a skeleton. 

"WELL THEN HUMAN, PERHAPS THERE IS A COMPRIMISE WE CAN COME TOO!"

"You want Jason?"

"INDEED!"

"Well, I don't exactly see how useful a corpse could be to you."

The confident grin stretched across the skeletons skull faltered, his hands dropping from his sides.

"JASONS DEAD?!"

You nod again.

"Why did you come here then?" The taller one asked. You could tell from his tone he already knew.

You thought back to the Jason's Fiance. 

Shit. She probably told somebody. Of course they're going to know somethings up.

A ping breaks the silence, and you pull you phone from your pocket.

 

They're not alone. What should we do?

 

You glanced up at the two before 'Blues' spoke up, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

 

Take them out. We need the ones I'm talking too alive.

 

You hit send and repocketed your phone and merely staring silently at the two in front of you.

"You know what? Fuck thi-" The taller one said uneasily, reaching for his gun but immediately dropping to the ground when shots started to fly, the shorter on following suit.

It would take them a second to realize that the guns weren't shooting at them, but rather your men picking off theirs.

You stood calmly, taking out your own gun and pointing it at the two, waiting for them to notice.

Blue was the first to look up, his pinpricks immediately shrinking ten times smaller then their original size.

"Stand up," you order, as Blue jumped to his feet and urged the taller one up with him.

Both of the males stared directly at your gun, hands held in the air.

"Drop your weapons."

Both pulls any and all guns and knives from their pockets. They must be relying on the fact that I may not know too much on monster magic.

I do.

"Your coming with me," you informed, waving you hand in the direction you wanted them to walk. The taller one did so without hesitation, but quickly turned back around upon noticing his smaller counterpart hadn't.

"What's the hesitation?" You asked Blue directly, while he appeared to be calculating in his head.

"I APOLOGIZE HUMAN, BUT I AM AFRAID I CAN NOT DO THAT. IF YOU KEEP THIS UP I WILL BE FORCED TO USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK." 

You quirked an eyebrow, moving the gun to point at the taller one and shot his leg, causing him to shout and fall to his knees.

"HUMAN!" Blue screamed, turning to face the fallen human.

"Special Attack huh? Alright, let's dance," you chuckled, tucking your gun in your jeans by your back.

Blue appeared shocked before turning to face you again. He reached out towards you and you felt a tug from inside you, you tried to remained calm, and succeeded.

You hadn't ever fought a monster before but knew that basics. He was going to put your soul on display, and try to attack that.

You soul was yanked from your body, causing you too feel empty, hollow. You almost had an itch, like something was missing. Staring out to the mid tone blue heart shaped soul, Grey spirals decorated the surface, and when you moved they glinted under the moon light like silver.

You glance at Blue, who appearedto not have even acknowledge it.  All of a sudden you felt heavy, if you hadn't trained you would no doubt sink to your knees under the weight.

You look back from blue to your soul, it had changed colour to a deep blue. 

"YOUR BLUE NOW! THAT IS MY SPECIAL ATTACK HUMAN."

Blue lifted his hand to make another move but was interrupted by the other males groaned. The both of us paused to glance at him holding his injured leg before back at each other.

Several bones seemingly summounded out of no where, and shot towards you. You struggled to avoid the first few, but eventually got the hang of it.

It was your turned, and several options faced you.

FIGHT|ACT|MERCY

Several words hovered below it, including your name. Your real name, that is.

Thankfully it seems no one was paying any real mind to it. You needed to end this confrontation before anyone did notice.

Whats LV though? As in level in a videogame? And why did you have 36 of it?

You slam your hand down to press 'fight', but to your surprise, it appeared you had pressed ACT instead. Unsure of how to go back you look at your options, before pressing down on 'check'. 

ATK 1 DEF 1 

• Avenging his fallen friend

 

Blue summoned more bones for you to jump over, duck under, and dodge from either side. After you survive the wave of attacks if was your turn again.

This time you were unsure as what to do. You had finally noticed his low HP of 1, and he'd be no use to you dead. Eyes scanning over your options you pressed down on 'Mercy' then 'Spare'.

It does nothing.

By now the taller man had crawled over to cover, eyes closed and in obvious pain. 

Blue throws more bones your way, hitting or scraping you occasionally, but with your high HP of 280 you were doing steadily, now only down at 245.

Upon your turn you pressed spare again. Even if it did nothing, you would rather wait for him to get tired then have to risk killing probably one of your strongest leads. Plus you didn't feel like flirting or complimenting the enemy.

This went on for a good ten minutes. All the gunshots had died down, and you wondered if the reason no one had either attempted to kill or assist you was because everybody had died along with it. 

You also wondered why the police hadn't showed. Perhaps The White Phantoms were paying them off to ignore any disturbances from here, at least for tonight.

If that were the case, you would need to find a way to cut their ties with them.

After pressing spare for a seventh time, the hardened expression blue had tried so hard to maintain finally softened.

"HUMAN! I UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO SURRENDER TO SOMEONE AS POWERFUL AS MYSELF...BUT I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO FIGHT?"

You paused, before beginning to speak when a bullet shot through the air, right by Blues foot, causing him to jump back at least a few metres.

You glanced back from where the bullet came from. You couldn't let someone with 1hp be shot! The plan was originally just to shoot them in the leg if things went badly, any normal person would have survived if they stopped the bleeding, but Blue?

Hell, Looking over your shoulder it almost looks like the other guy bled out! Now Blue was twice a valuable.

Another shot fired, skimming Blue's left leg, his Hp visably dropping from 1 to 0.5.

Eyes wide you charge at blue, his eyesockets going wide and the pinpricks flickered out, almost as if he expected to this to be the end.

Ha. No, you weren't done with him yet.

Pushing yourself onto of him you both fall behind one of the concrete pillars just as another shot fired. You put your hand behind his head before you hit the ground so he wouldn't hurt his skull.

The both of you grunt, you quickly got off of blue, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him further behind cover.

Before Blue could have a chance to register what had happened you quickly walk back out into the open. This person was obviously on your side, and you could /probably/ trust them not to kill you.

You put your hands in the air and signalled them to stop shooting, calling out in their general direction to come down.

No further shots were fired so you quickly walked over to the human male, placing two fingers on his neck and feeling for a pulse.

Shit. He was dead. You must have shot the artery.

You glanced over at Blue, who was using the wall to hold himself up.

"You Saved Me." He simply stated, confusion evident on his expression.

"Only because I needed you alive," you clarified honestly. 

"IS HE DEAD?" Blue then asked, nodded his head towards the taller human.

You simply nod in response.

After a short silence you wonder what's taking probably last remaining person on your team to get here. Perhaps he was injured? 

If that were the case you couldnt go to find him, if would be better to wait here.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ME?"

For some reason, blue reminded you a lot like a child. Whether that was a guise to get you to put your guard down or not was yet to be decided.

"We're going to talk."

"T-TALK? THAT'S IT?"

"If you cooperate."

Blue paused seemingly thinking something over. You could already tell Blue wasn't that type to simply spill the beans. 

"AND IF I DON'T?"

"We'll get to that if the time comes."

You notice Blue struggling to hold back a shudder, he was doing quite well until he looked up at me your gaze.

"H-Hey!" A third, masculine voice called out.

You looked over your shoulder, and noticed another figure hobbling over in your direction. Guess you were right. 

Facing Blue again you took a single step closer to him and held out your hand, causing him to press himself against the wall, staring down at your hand questioningly.

"Arm," you simply said. He looked up at you, before hesitantly giving you his arm. You wrapped your hand around his upper arm firmly.

At least he wasn't defiant. 

You walked quickly over to the other man, immediately wrapping his arm over your shoulder, "Are you alright?" 

He grunted in response and you rolled your eyes over his form, it appeared he had been shot in the abdomem, from the way he was clutching his stomach. You would need to drop him off at the Hospital on your way back.

"Anyone else left alive?"

He shook his head 'no' and you decided it was time to go. You would send someone over to deal with this later. This was Gold Knives territory, you would probably have to discuss this with them soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Pulling up at the Hospital you park the car out front, you grab one of your old hoodies from the boot. Opening the passenger door you throw the hoodie in Blue's seat before opening the back door to help Justin (As you learn his name was) sit up from his lying position.

"Put that on, keep the hoodie up," you instructed blue while wrapping Justins arm around you shoulder and grabbing Blue's arm again with your free one.

You lead them inside, instead of taking Justin to the emergency room, heading to Dr. Valvaldi's office. 

Glancing to Blue you notice how big your black hoodie was on him, hanging to his knees like a dress and the sleeves far surpassing his hands. He glanced around nervously, pulling at the ends of the hoodie restlessly.

"Keep your head down," you remind Blue, he glanced up at you quickly then back down to his feet. 

Walking down alles and ignoring guests and nurse's shocked gazes you eventually find the desired room.

Not bothering to knock you let go of Blue's arm, opening the door and knudging him through in which he complies.

The Doctor glanced up from his desk, sighing and standing up from his seat.

You moved over to the operation table and helped Justin lay down. This whole room had it's own medical supplies, as the Doctor often had visits from members of our gang.

After sitting Justin down you instructed Blue to sit in the seat in front of the Doctors desk before shutting and locking the door.

The Doctor immediately took care of Justin, so you instead lean against the Doctors desk next to Blue's chair.

"How's your HP?"

"STILL 0.5 I BELIEVE." 

Blue didnt meet your gaze and instead stared down at his lap.

"Your allowed to look up now, ya know?"

Blue tensed before looking up at you, and then around the room, eyeing each and every object cautiously.

"What do you need?"

Blue turned around and faced you again, still only half on his seat, as if he were afraid to get comfortable. Not that you can blame him. He was technically being kidnapped.

"WHAT?"

"Your HP, what do you need to max it out?"

"JUST SOMETHING TO EAT WILL DO."

You nodded and reached over to the Doctors desk phone, dialing the hospitals 24/7 Cafe number that your all too familiar with.

"Hello, Callie's Cafe speaking! How can I help you?"

"Uh yes, hello. I would like to order..."

You put the phone to your shoulder and whisper to Blue, "What do you want?"

His eye sockets went wide and he quickly stuttered out and answer, "U-Uh T- A TACO?"

You raised an eyebrow, pretty certain they didn't have those before putting the phone back up to your ear.

"Uh, do you have Tacos?" You questioned.

"Sorry, no we don't."

"Alright, well just whatever you have that's similar to them then."

"Alright!~ Anything else?"

"Just a bottle of water thanks."

"And where are we delivering this too?"

"Dr.Valvaldi's office."

"Okay! Have a good night!" 

You hung up the phone and sat on the desk, watching the Doctor work quietly.

Blue also remained quiet, very compliant, actually. It was almost concerning.

"Give me your phone," you remembered, holding your hand out. Blue looked up at you and appeared distressed.

So that's why he hadn't tried anything. He was waiting for a moment for you to get distracted and contact someone. He reluctantly pulled his phone from his pocket and placed it in your hands.

You took it, pulling the back off and taking the battery out so no one could track it, before putting it in your other pocket.

Blue looked like someone had just ripped his very soul from him, shoulders slumped and pinpricks missing.

You eyed him carefully before redirecting your attention when somebody knocks on the door.

You stood up and slipped out the door, closing it behind you and pulling your wallet out from the waistband of your jeans.

In front of you stood a small blonde women, roughly your age, your order in her arms.

"Ah! Hello! Here's your order!" She chirped, no doubt receiving the energy from the infinite amout of coffee at her disposal.

You pulled out your wallet and handed her a fifty, which was a good thirty eight dollars more then you were meant to give her.

"Woah Miss! This is way too mu-"

"Keep it." You blantantly replied, taking the food from her arms and slipping back inside.

Upon hearing her shuffle away you walk back over to Blue who was staring at you.

You gave him his food and the bottle of water bottle of water before sitting back down.

"They didn't have any tacos, so I just got you something else," you informed Blue before glancing over at the doctor, "So doc', what do you think? Will he be able to be released tonight?"

The doctor didn't answer for a few seconds before putting whatever was in his hands down and turning around to face you. "No. He will need to stay here for a few days. I will arrange for him to get a room."

"Y-"

"Off the books, of course."

You nodded and allowed the Doctor to start sewing Justin up and watched Blue eat with interest.

You weren't sure where the food went, and how he chewed without getting food everywhere, but left the explanation at magic.

Once you noticed him finish you decided to get going.

"Alright, well, suppose we better get out of your hair Doc', me and Blue will be going."

"Alright. I'll give you a call tomorrow to update you on the situation."

You stood up and gave the Doctor a firm handshake before pulling out your wallet again and handing the Doctor a hundred dollars note.

"Just a little something extra, to show you how much we appreciate your help," you explained.

The doctor took the money without hesitation. He was a good man in a bad finacial situation. He really needed the money, thats how he ended up working for the mafia in the first place.

"Come on Blue, we're going," you held your hand for him to give you his arm, before leading him back to the carpark.

Walking back to the boot of your car you pull out your bag and grab the bandana inside tossing it to Blue before sitting in the driverseat.

Blue held the cloth, obviously getting the gist and tying it over his eye sockets. Before driving you make sure that it's on properly and head back to the safehouse.

-

Blue was currently sitting across the dining room table from you, drinking his cup off tea while you sat in silence.

"WHY ARE YOU BEING NICE TO ME HUMAN? AM I NOT YOUR HOSTAGE?"

"You've been cooperative with me so far, I figured attempting a civil conversation was the least I could do."

Blue eyed you strangely, but seemed to believe you. You actually attempt something similar with all your hostages. If they fall into the false sense of security it becomes much easier to get information you would have otherwise missed. Of course there are the stubborn types of people-like Jason, who do not give in to those types of things. In those scenarios, things cannot be helped.

It was early, currently 6am, but you couldnt sleep any longer knowing there was work to be done.Your brother was asleep, you had talked to him last night, he had been very busy the past week, so you decided to let him sleep in this morning. Despite getting up early you've never been a morning person. You understood the struggles.

"Alright. I believe it's time to get to the point."

"..."

"I need to know who you work for. Who is the don of The White Phantoms?"

"I CANNOT TELL YOU THAT, HUMAN."

"What file were you looking for?"

"I DO NOT KNOW, I WAS MERELY ASKED TO PICK IT UP."

"Alright, why was such valuable information held in such an unsecure area?"

"..." Blue wringed his hands together and avoided your gaze.

"Blue," you adressed him more firmly, causing him to turn to face you, "you do realize we have your phone. We can trace your messages. We have access to anyone and everyone you have ever messaged."

Blue frozen, his grip on his cup tightening as he stared up at you. You weren't sure if he was glaring at you or trying not to look petrified. Perhaps both.

"Just tell us what we need to know, and we'll leave them alone. It's that simple."

"I-I CAN'T HUMAN."

You dropped your head in your hand and pinched your nose before looking back up at Blue, "How far are you willing to go for your gang Blue?

Are you willing to get hurt? Are you willing to die? Are you willing to let your friend di-"

"-NO!!! DON'T TOUCH THEM!"

"Then talk to me! Don't make things difficult for yourself. Tell me what you know, and this can all be over. I'll let you go, and your friends and family will remain unharmed."

Fury burned in Blues's eye sockets, before fading as his gaze dropped back down to the table in front of him.

"I WANT THEM TO BE SAFE, HUMAN. BUT I ALSO CANNOT BETRAY THEM THIS WAY. I REFUSE TO. EVEN IF IT MEANS I MUST D-DIE," he voice cracked and he quickly tried to hide it by drinking more tea and avoiding your gaze.

You sighed. Usually you'd just give up and start with the real interrogation, but you couldnt see how you could without killing him.

No, you would have to keep up this approach until further notice.

"Heh. Stubborn aren't you? Alright. I'm patient." 

Blue stared at you, sockets wide. It was funny how expressive he was despite being a skeleton.

"Y-YOUR NOT GOING TO KILL ME?"

"Why would I do that? There are far better ways to handle things then simply resorting to violence," you weren't necessarily lying either, communication was a far more efficient solution to any problem, if only the other party would cooperate.

"WHO ARE YOU...HUMAN?"

"heh. I thought I was the one asking the questions," you raised an eyebrow, which he couldn't see from the cloth that covered practically the entireity of your face.

"WHAT DO I CALL YOU THAN?"

"You can call me Stitches." Blue tensed, he knew people didnt get nicknames like that without a reason.

"Blue your real name?" You then change the subject in his silence.

"IT'S A NICKNAME."

Running your eyes of Blue again it made sense. You were guessing he wore blue often.

"The surface world not been too great to ya? That's why you joined the mafia?"

"...YES WELL, WHEN ME AND MY BROTHER STRETCH FIRST-" Blue immediately cut himself off once he realized he had just given you a name of not only his brother, but likely a member of the Mafia too. "YOUR GOOD AT THIS HUMAN."

"What do you mean? I was just making polite conversation?" You answered, feigning innocence.

"YOU WILL NOT FOOL ME HUMAN! I AM THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY!"

Blueberry? Somehow that seemed even more fitting.

"Blueberry huh? My favourite," you joked, teasing him for his cute nickname. 

Blues's face instantly flushed a light baby blue and he quickly avoided your gaze going silent again while trying to cover his face with his cup, that was already empty.

"Stitches." You turned around and faced your brother, nodding in reply to his greeting. 

"Hey Boss."

Blue spared a glance up at your brother, sitting back further in his seat as if to try and create more distance.

"This our new...guest?" Ash questioned, knowing how you liked to try and befriend the person in question first. Blue seemed restless under your brothers cold and calculated gaze.

You turned back around putting your cheek in your hand you watched Blue carefully before answering, "Yeah."

"I'll be heading back to base. Despite you being busy with our new, friend, I still expect you to get work done from here."

"'Course Boss."

Your brother nodded, and refrained from ruffling your hair like he'd usually do. You both had agreed to not let Blue know you had any close ties. He exited the room, and probably out the front door.

"Suppose your stuck with me for the day then, Blue."

-

You had just gotten off the phone with Tony Vanderwick, the Don of the Gold Knives. You had told him that your brother was busy and would have to speak with you.

He demanded compensation for the trouble of cleaning up the bodies and any and all damange caused at the site, and with the new deal in place you agreed immediately. You wouldn't want to risk starting a fued between the two gangs, not while you were occupied with the White Phantoms.

You stared down at your phone momentarily before tucking it in your back pocket and glancing over to Blueberry who was sitting idly on the lounge.

You would be using this house for the next few weeks until Ash got a new identity, sold your old home and bought new ones for each of you. You also weren't going to pay for a chef and eat out everyday.

Which means... Grocery shopping. Such a mundane chore that it almost feels alien to your usual lifestyle.

You could also buy Blueberry clothes his size while you were out. Or you could just let him wear your significantly oversized ones for your own amusement.

You'll decide when the time comes.

"Blueberry," the small skeleton immediately perked up when his name was called, "put your blindfold back on, we're going out."

He did as he was told, and you ensured he couldn't see, adjusting the bandana. Making sure you had your keys, phone and wallet, you lead Blueberry back outside, pulling his hoodie further over his face.

Opening the passengers seat you helped him In, bending across Blueberry as you put on his seatbelt. You could feel him stiffen against the contact.

As you head off you idly turn the radio on, keeping the volume low.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING HUMAN?"

"Grocery shopping."

"SHOPPING?"

You snickered, glancing at Blue for a second before focusing back on the road, "Yes, High ranking Mafia need to eat too, Blue."

"O-OF COURSE I KNEW THAT! I WAS JUST... CONFIRMING WHAT YOU SAID."

A grin tugged at your lips and you don't reply, turning left at an intersection. 

"What rank do you hold in your group anyway? Just a worker?"

"ACTUALLY, OUR GROUP WORKS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY THEN MOST. WE HAVE OUR BOSS, WHO IS IN CHARGE, BUT UNDERNEATH HIM ARE THREE FAMALIES, THAT ALL RUN THEIR OWN LINES OF WORK, MUCH LIKE CAPOS."

"And you belong to one of these families?"

"INDEED! I-WAIT. UGH. I DID IT AGAIN!" Blueberry caught himself mid sentence, realizing he was once  again feeding you more information.

You knew that this was a prime example of something you would have missed in the normal  methods of getting information. It only helped that Blue seemed to be a bit of a chatterbox.

You had also concluded that he wasn't pretending to be child like, but rather was naturally this way.

He very slightly reminded you off your brother, when you both were very young. Ash was very energetic and loud and outgoing. The complete opposite of the person he was today. You wished you had been able to protect that part of him, like how someone had obviously had done so with Blueberry. Guess you just weren't cut out for the responsibility.

You pulled up in the parking lot, allowing Blueberry to take his blindfold off. 

He looked around the area before turning to face you, waiting for you to start walking.

You held Blue by the arm once again before entering the store. Taking a trolley you let go of Blueberry, as long as he stayed close.

Walking through the first aisle you put a loaf of white bread in before continuing forward. You received a lot of strange looks, like you always did when you went out in public with your mask on. 

You grab all the basics, milk, butter, eggs. Throwing in pancake mix, bacon, a variety of spreads, pasta, mince, several types of vegetables and fruits before heading into the Lolly aisle, discreetly throwing in taco shells when Blueberry wasn't looking.

You grab two packets of chocolate bullets (Ash's favourite), before putting a packet of chocolate chips biscuits in and looking at Blueberry.

"Anything you want?" You asked, waving a hand to gesture towards the variety of sugary treats.

Blue looked surprised, but it was quickly replaced by a large grin as he spun around and bounced on his toes as he pointed out the...extensive, list of lollies and chocolates he wanted.

You quirked an eyebrow, but didnt argue. It wasnt like money was an issue.

Despite his friendly attitude, you didn't dare underestimate what he was capable of. He worked under just under his Don, even being in the mafia alone meant he was trouble.

You had been watching him, you could tell that behind that outgoing and confident front was something calculative, manipulative even.

Loading up the trolley with the chosen items you headed out to the checkout. Blue helping you load up the items so the cashier could scan them.

The person was in their teens, and from his slow pace and unsure movements-he was probably new.

You waited patiently, putting the bags back in the trolley and paying for your items. You held on to Blue's arm with one hand as you pushed the trolley outside.

It was it was a strange feeling, of bone beneath clothing, but it wasn't an unpleasant one, you noticed.

Loading up the car and merely pushing the trolley away into a corner you open the door for Blue before hopping in yourself.

Putting the keys in the ignition, you notice Blue from the corner of your eye. He put on his seatbelt before picking up the Bandana and lifting it too his face.

"Don't," you started, capturing his attention, "we're not done yet."


	5. Chapter 5

Blueberry looked around confused, obviously not understanding why you were here. You stood in the middle of a clothing store designed for...smaller people. 

You let go of Blue's hand and gestured forward at the racks of clothes.

"Figured you'd be needing some of your own during your Stay."

Blue looked up at you, eye sockets wide. Heh. You were full of surprises, weren't you?

"WOWZERS! REALLY?"

You nod in response, "Stay close."

Blueberry bounced on his feet, pinpricks forming into literal baby blue stars. He glanced around the room before skipping towards the right corner, hesitating while he waited for you to walk beside him.

His fingers skimmed across clothing as he pulled out and inspected several pieces. Despite such a laid back activity such as shopping, you don't put your guard down. Out in public, with so many people around, it would be a prime opportunity to try and escape.

Blueberry captures your attention when he holds out a grey-blue T-shirt that said 'I don't care, I'm getting Taco's' with a picture of a taco underneath.

You stiffled a snicker and gave him a thumbs up, taking it off him and holding it for him. He must really like tacos.

This continued until you had collected Five T-shirts, three pants, two shorts, a variety of tacos themed socks and a baby blue Hoodie in your arms.

You approached the counter with Blue bouncing from foot too foot happily. You put the items in front of the women at the counter and stood in silence as she scanned all the items.

"That'll be $132 thanks."

You nod and pull out your card, tapping it before pocketing it again.

"Would you like a receipt?"

"Yes, thanks." 

You take the receipt and put it in the plastic bag along with the clothes. Grabbing the bags with one hand you begin walking towards the entrance, before reaching out to grab Blue by the arm again.

As you reached the street Blue pulled his arm from your grip. Your heart skips a beat as you prepare to run after him as your hand slips down his arm.

But instead of pulling away Blue instead slips his hand in yours, his fingers curling around yours. You stared down at him, but he instead continued to look forward avoiding your gaze and pulling you forward towards the car. 

p>What was he playing at?

His phalanges felt foreign against your skin, but it was a strangly pleasant sensation. 

You choose to ignore it and open the passenger door for Blueberry upon arrival as routine went. p>

Upon locking eyes he let his hand drop and looked forward. You shut his door and put the bags in the backseat, next to the grocery shopping before heading over to the drivers seat.

You start up the car before passing Blueberry the blindfold again.

He held the blindfold in his hands before tying it around his face again. His face was still flushed a light blue and he quickly turned to face the window, despite not being able to see out of it.

You don't question his behaviour, perhaps the reality of the situation was dawning on him. You were being nice-but that doesn't mean you would be forever. You had a job too do, plus you were the enemy. 

Perhaps he was finally weighing his options. Maybe he'd finally talk to you.

The idea of killing Blue caused a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. You could make an exception, if he was as important as he claimed he was, you could...ransom him, or something.It's not like he knew anything, you could let him go.

-

You place the plate in front of Blueberry, before sitting down to eat your own meal. You had made Taco's, an apparent favorite of his, putting a few leftover in the fridge for Ash.

Blueberry lit up in an instant, stars once again forming in his eyes. You force down your smile as you pull down the bottom half of your mask so you could also eat. Your skeleton buddy/prisoner doesn't notice as he practically inhales the food in front of him.

Taking a bite into your own, Blueberry's head shoots up to look at you. He freezes, like a deer caught in headlights, pinpricks shrinking.

You take another bite, the taco crunching beneath your teeth as your relished his reaction. He seems to catch himself staring and blue paints his face again.

"Y-YOUR FACE!"

"What about it?" You grin.

He looks away and distracts himself with the remenants of a taco in his hand, "NOTHING!"

"Mhm, alright."

You finish your first taco, waiting a minute or two too bring up a new topic, after all, you still had questions to ask.

"So, I imagine your quite popular. Lots of friends?"

Blueberry seems to relax at the topic change, returning to his usual self, "YES, NATURALLY THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY ATTRACTS MANY ADMIRERS, AND HAS MANY FRIENDS."

"I'm sure," you readjust your arm, leaning you face against your palm as you listen, "tell me about them."

"THERE IS UNDYNE WHO WAS ONCE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, MY FRIEND AND NOW MENTOR. WE TRAIN TOGETHER ALMOST EVERYDAY WITH PAPYRUS! THEN THERE IS HER FIANCE ALPHYS, WHO WAS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST!"

"Underground?"

"YES."

"What do they do now?"

"ALPHYS WORKS AS OUR SCIENTIST. SHE HANDLES ALL THE TECHNOLOGY, LIKE TRACKING PEOPLE AND UPGRADING THINGS. UNDYNE IS BASICALLY A CAPTAIN, SHE HELPS TRAIN AND RUN ALL OUR SOLDIERS AND SCOUTS."

"And who's this 'Papyrus'?"

"HE IS ANOTHER ONE OF MY FRIENDS, HE BELONGS TO ONE OF THE OTHER FAMILIES."

"Papyrus is a, unique, name."

"FOR HUMANS, I SUPPOSE."

"What's his last name?"

Blueberry gives you a strange look, and for a moment you think he's caught on. It seems he hasn't.

"SERIF. WHY?"

You shrugged, "Just thought a unique name might have a unique last name to match. What's yours?"

"C-CHICAGO"

"As in the city? Or the font?"

"FONT, I SUPPOSE."

A smirk plays at your lips, what's with all the font names?

"And Papyrus is also from the underground?"

"YES."

So most-if not all the higher ups of the White Phantoms are monsters... interesting.

"You said there was three families, are you friends with anyone from the third?"

"NOT REALLY, RED AND EDGE ARE A BIT...RUDE. I TRY TO BE POLITE, BUT I DONT THINK THEY LIKE ME VERY MUCH..."

"Can't win 'em all," you replied. You, personally, didnt find it hard to at least pretend to like people, but you could see how Blueberry's extravagent and lively personality might not be everybody's cup of tea. "And 'Red and 'Edge' are...brothers?"

"CORRECT. THEIR LAST NAME IS CALIBRI."

You didnt even have to ask this time. He must be distracted if he hadnt caught on yet. Eyeing Blue, he appeared utterly unaware and ignorant of the intentions behind the questions.

"And so, all three families are from underground? Who else?"

"ALL OF THE HIGHER UPS ARE ALL MONSTERS, ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE SOLDIERS AND WORKERS ARE TOO."

"That sounds like you have large numbers. You would need a pretty big base of operations, no?"

"THATS EXACTLY WHY WE HAVE MORE THEN ONE, BETTER SAFE THEN SORRY."

You nodded in agreement. You had a fallback emergency base, but to have more then one official one? They must be wealthier then anticipated. How did you not know this?

"How many exactly?"

"THREE. ONE FOR EACH FAMILY TO SUPERVISE AND RUN." 

"What one do you take care of?"

Blueberry paused, "YOUR ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT ME AND MY FRI-" Blueberry seems to realize what he's done, and frankly, looks devastated. His eyesockets become void of any light and from the way he slumped  forward, you can tell he feels like the scum of the earth.

You almost feel bad. You glance around, not knowing how to make him feel better.

'Hey, nothing personal, just doing my job?'

Yeah, your not saying that.

"Heh. C'mon, don't be that way. Smile for me, it suits you better," you joke Unsurely. You couldn't let him hate you now-all your efforts would go to waste!

Blue flinches, before slowly looking back up at you and the two white pinpricks fading back into view as a blue hue crept onto his cheeks. He looked away, silent for a second before speaking.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION, HUMAN?"

You shrugged, "Whatever I have to."

"J-JUST PROMISE ME YOU WON'T HURT MY BROTHER, OR MY FRIENDS." 

You sighed, inspecting Blueberry's expression, "I'll see what I can do."

You already knew there was a high likelihood that many-if not all would end up hurt or dead. You refused to make promises you knew you couldnt keep.

Blue appeared to be semi-satisfied with that response, continuing to finish his last Taco. You decide to drop the conversation. You had gotten the fundaments of how The White Phantoms worked-along with several names of obviously important people on their group, that was enough for today.

The front door opened and closed. You figured it was just your brother, but your hand brushed your gun anyway in precaution.

Your Brother walked into the dining room, fiddling with his cuffs and your relaxed. He nodded at you in greeting, merely glancing at Blueberry.

"Leftovers are in the Fridge," you informed him, before remembering you couldn't address him so casually around Blueberry, "Boss." 

He continued into the kitchen and you heard the audible opening and closing of the fridge, before he walked back out and sat at the foot of the table to join you-despite the two of you being finished.

"I see you've aquainted yourself quite well with our guest," he adressed you, " have you two discussed much?"

You looked away from Ash and back at Blueberry, who met your gaze, "A fair bit." You replied simply.

"I see... Tomorrow I am afraid I will need you back at base. So either you will need to bring him with you or find someone else to look after him..."  Your brother trailed off, if you were to let someone else watch him for the day, it would definitely be someone a lot less...friendly. 

It wouldnt be the first time you had put someone under someone elses care and they ended up dead. Of cause you made sure everyone responsible was punished accordingly, but did you really want to risk it another time?

You were also a monster neutral group, meaning several members would be bigoted towards monsters. 

You mentally sigh. He would need to stay with you, despite how inconveniencing it is.

 "Understood, Boss."

Looking up at the clock, it was only six o'clock. You both would be having an early start, but going to bed at 6 was a bit ridiculous-especially if you werent tired.

You stand from your seat and pick up your plate, Blueberry copying your actions. Rinsing your plate and putting it in the dishwasher you wait at the door for Blue to do the same before leading him to the lounge room.

Pulling off your shoes with your feet you sit cross legged on the white leather u shaped lounge. Blueberry stands in the doorway, watching you for a moment before sitting down at a relatively safe distance next to you. 

Reaching for the remote you throw it gently into Blue's lap before relaxing back into the couch. 

Blueberry stared down at the remote for a second before turning the television and flicking through the channels. He switched through show after show until he finally settled for some Mettaton movie.

You only half paid attention, the other half on Blueberry and your thoughts.

The White Phantoms had three core bases, all in which locations still remained unknown. For now you knew several names, and you knew just the right person to help you find out as much information as possible on them.

Pulling out your phone, you leant in the direction facing away from Blueberry, legs half spread out, stopping just before touching him. 

 

You to: Oscar Danielle

 

Red & Edge Calibri, Papyrus Serif, Stretch Chicago, Samara Greenwood

You know the deal. Also 'Undyne' and 'Alphys' -no known last names, but they are both monsters.

 

There was only one name you were familiar with on that list-Papyrus Serif. The skeleton running for office that you had seen at that resturant.

This was very valuable information.

There was also that girl- Samara Greenwood, Jason's apparent Fiance. You had made a promise to him not to hurt her, and it would be hard to keep that promise  without knowing where she is.

You had many tasks too do. Not only would you have to constantly supervise Blueberry, but you would need to start arranging for your brother to get an identity change, arrange new homes for the both of you, create an entire new schedule for the workers from the set back of moving everything to the new location, supervise all the backgrounds checks and interrogations to find any and all moles in the gang, and organize another emergency base to fallback on.

Then there was the was The White Phantoms, who no doubt would create more tasks for you to do, and figuring out how you would compensate the Gold Knives from the shoot out the previous night would also be another chore.

You set your phone down, as the mental checklist grew. It never ends. You cannot catch a break for the life of you. 

You let out a low shaky breath. 

But it was all worth it. Up here at the top-You could give your brother anything. Nobody could mess with him, and as long as you lived, you would make sure nobody hurt him. 

Your brother could finally be happy.

And thats all that mattered.

You watched television for another couple hours, before taking Blueberry back to his room. The one designed for...guests such as him. On the top storey-no windows and the lock on the outside.

You held the door open for him, and he wandered inside. He turned to face you when you hadn't yet shut the door.

"Are you warm enough? I can get you some more blankets," you asked, noting that it was now approaching mid autumn and the weather was getting colder. 

"OH UH! N-NO, I SHOULD BE FINE." 

You nodded, "Good night," before closing the door before you could get an answer. Making sure it was properly locked you head towards your brothers office, peering inside.

Your brother sat on his seat, running a hand through his hair as he typed on his laptop. 

You walked inside, closing the door behind you and despite how dark it was you both met each others eyes.

"Still up?" 

Your brother let out a tired laugh, "Yeah. What have you gotten out of the skeleton?"

"Just a few names, the works of the gang. I've got someone doing backgrounds checks now."

"Good. I trust you know what your doing."

"Always."

You both fall into a silence, not sure what to say next before you break the silence. "You should go to bed. It's late, and you can't sleep in again tomorrow."

Your brothers face fell in his hands, rubbing his eyes, "I know, I knowing just need to finish this first."

"You're the Don for a reason, Ash. You have plenty of people who can do it for you," you scold.

Your brother didnt reply before closing his laptop and standing up. "Alright. I'll go to bed," he loosens his collar as he approached you, ruffling your hair and starting towards the door.

He seems to change his mind as he turns around and plants a firm kiss against the top of your head and walking outside the office.

You chuckled lowly to yourself. Your bro was such a softy. 

You followed him out of the office and head to your room, closing the door behind you and collapsing on your bed. You could shower in the morning. 


	6. Chapter 6

Blueberry spun in circles on the wheelie chair situated in front of your desk. Not paying him any mind you open a new tab on your laptop.

Next thing you needed to do; find a new home for both you and your bro.

Putting in a very specific search category you wait for the results too load. Currently all of your old belongings from your previous home had been put into safe storage, until you found somewhere else to put them.

Scrolling through a list of homes, all at least three storey's high, 2+ acre yard (you both had always hated homes that were basically piled upon one another) and 4+ bedroom.

Then there was also the matter of buying a house for both of you close by. You weren't expecting to live on the same street-hell, probably not even in the same neighbourhood, but you were looking for somewhere close enough to be able to walk to.

You lift your head to ask Blueberry's opinion on one house before firmly shutting your jaw closed again. Right, it was sometimes easy to forget he was the enemy with his light hearted and approachable nature.

Your brother was currently getting his pictures taken to put on his new license as he underwent a full identity change. You were sure he was enjoying that. Not. Your brother hated having pictures taken of him.

Your phone chimed and you picked it up from your desk. It was from Oscar Danielle. The guy you sent the names too.

 

Red and Edge Calibri:

Both are skeletons and brothers, Red 24 and Edge 20. Edge works under a company called 'Ebotts Arms Inc.' The legal arms dealers that supply this districts police with weaponry. As for Red, while he isn't on the payroll, he appears to hold some sort of authority over the company along with his brother.

Both have committed previous offenses but neither have served any jail time. Their current estate is at X address at XXX  lane. It appears it is just the two of them.

 

Stretch Chicago (24), another skeleton, and only known family being a younger brother, 'Blue' (20). The two are co-owners of a series of bars through the north and west side of the City, their most profitable one being one on Zayne Street, 'Wild Vibes'. Their current residents is listed as X XXX street XXX suburb.

No known criminal records or offenses.

 

Papyrus Serif, 20, younger brother of Sans Serif, 24. The duo are also skeletons. Papyrus is campaining for head office as city Mayor, statistics show he is just pulling forward majority vote. His elder brother has no known career, but word says he is constantly working 'odd jobs'. The pair are apparently very well known, especially amongst the monster community. 

Their address is X XXX st, XXX. Neither have any criminal records or charges.

 

Samara Greenwood (23), some sort of tree nymph monster. Works part time at a Florist shop downtown, 'The Flower Patch'. Has several younger siblings (all infants). Mothers name is Tally and Father Acer. Apparently living by herself at number X at the only apartment block on Terrier street.

Has been recorded for breakery and entery, as well as armed assault, but wasnt charged for either. 

 

As for this 'Undyne' and 'Alphys', i'll have to keep looking.

 

 

Taking screenshots of the messages and forwarding them both to your brother and then Rodger for safe keeping, a knock sounds on your door. Turning your phone off you invite the person in. 

The averaged height male approached your desk, giving Blueberry a wary glance as he stood beside the skeleton monster, hands held together in front of him.

You recognized him as one of the men surveillancing your previous home. He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders before beginning, "Before I start, are you sure you want...him, in the room?"

You glanced at Blueberry, who was already looking at you. You waved your hand at the brunette male, "It's alright. Begin."

"It appears someone, claiming to work for the White Phantoms has surrendered themselves. They want to speak with the Boss. They also want to know if... They're," The male said, gesturing at Blueberry, "Still alive." 

"I see. I will speak to the Boss about this. Where are they now?"

"Still at the house, my men are keeping an eye on him until we recieve further orders."

"Take them to our head Casino. Either me or the Boss will meet you in the meeting room."

He nodded at your words and left the room obidiently. You look back towards Blue, who had sat forward on his seat.

"THEY CAME LOOKING FOR ME! I MEAN, OF COURSE THEY DID. MWEHEH I AM THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY AFTER ALL."

You don't comment as you put your phone too your ear, listening to the dialing tone.

"Hello?"

"Have you been updated on the situation on the White Phantom gang?"

"Yes, I am still busy, you will have to do the questioning yourself. I trust you can handle the situation?"

"Of course."

You hung up the call and looked up at Blueberry, who was staring mindlessly at the wall in front of him. Standing from your seat caught his attention standing up abruptly to follow you out of the room.

-

Rodgers currently was responsible for Blueberry while you spoke with whoever it was who surrendered. You had spoken with him previously, giving him a stern reminder that he wasnt to be harmed in the slightest. 

You would be VERY displeased if you returned to a pile of dust. 

You traveled down a corridor towards the meeting room, hushed music from the casino playing in the background. A raven wooden door stood in your way to where you would meet this stranger, pushing it open and striding in with confidence you avoid meeting anyone's eyes as you moved to the head of the table.

Not taking a seat you turn and stared down to inspect the man in front of you. Another skeleton, dressed in a baggy orange hoodie lazily pulled over his skull. Despite his casual wear, his posture was stiff and his gaze serious.

Standing either side of the door were two people, dressed smartly and handguns sticking out from the side of their waists. 

Deciding to be the first to initiate the conversation you moved your arms to cross in front of your chest, eyes meeting his. "What is your name?"

"Tory."

You knew it likely wasn't. Nobody gave their real names straight off the bat. Plus with all the strange and unique names that all the other monsters you knew  of possessed, well, it seemed unlikely that he would be named something so mainstream.

"It would be best not to lie to me."

The lanky skeleton paused, "Stretch. The names Stretch."

Ah. Blue's brother. Made sense. 

"So, Stretch. What was it you wanted to speak about?"

"Blue-is he still alive?"

"You mean the other Skeleton?" You replied. You couldnt let him know anything just yet.

"You have him? Where is he? I want to see hi-"

"-Hold up," you raise a hand in a stop motion as you cut him off, " I havent confirmed anything. It has come to my attention that you surrendered to us, correct? If you truly wish to know whether Blue is alive or not, you will have to first answer a few questions."

"..." You could feel the glare directed at you, but you paid no attention to it, merely awaiting his response. "Fine. But if he is alive... I want to see him."

Without answering you instead begin questioning him, starting off with some you already knew. You needed to be sure he wouldnt just lie to you after all.

"How many other monsters work for your gang?"

Stretch's bone brows furrowed, but he answered anyway. "Many," he replied as simply as possible.

"What about the higher ups?"

"All of them are monsters, as well." 

"What is Blue to you?"

"..."

"Well?" You questioned, fully aware of the answer.

"...He's my brother."

You nod in acknowledgement. It appeared he was being honest. It was time to move on to the more important questions.

"Who is your Don?"

"First I want to know if my brother is alive or not."

You searched Stretch's expression before reaching for your phone and opening up to your contacts, watching Stretch from the corner of your eye.

 

Rodger

We need proof that Blue is still alive. Please send me a picture of him. 

 

A moment later you heard a buzz, it was a picture of Blue, unharmed. He looked over his shoulder from his crossed legged position on the floor, facing away from the Televsion in front of him. His brone brows furrowed, appearing confused in the moment the photo was taken.   

You held your phone out to face Stretch, far away enough for him to be unable to reach it. The skeleton instantly leaned forward, ribs hitting the side of the table as his eye sockets widen in interest.

He then instantly relaxed, slumping in his seat as he let out a heavy sigh. "Thank heavens."

You didn't respond and waited for him to regain his composure, putting your phone away in the mean time. Upon doing so, it was instead him, who spoke first. "Gaster," he answered to your previous question, "That's all I know. Nobody knows anything about him, except for his right hand, Alphys. But nobody knows hardly anything about her either."

"No last names?"

He shrugged, "None."

"I'm sure you know of those files that we have now obtained," he nodded, "and Jason?" He nodded again. "What file was so important that you needed back?"

"I don't know."

"And I don't believe you," you straightened. Neither of you spoke in some type of silent stand off, except you were winning and both of you knew it. You had the upperhand here, after all.

The skeleton let out a heavy sigh, "so it seems you havent thoroughly gone through all of them yet, am I right?"

You gave no response.

"We have some dirt on Richard Yennard. We had been using him to take further control of the city."

Richard Yennard, the previous mayor of Ebott City. This year though, instead of again running for office, he has instead gone for executive. With the votepot.

It all makes sense now. He'd been mayor for five terms in a row, he would have been again but all of a sudden he dropped out and instead went for executive.... To make room for Papyrus Serif. 

You saw now... The White Phantoms were planning a total takeover. You werent sure how they established control like that but you would have to take note for future reference, they were not to be underestimated. 

"I see...Final question. Where are your bases of operation?"

"You know i can't tell you that."

"Not even if the cost is Blueberry's life?"

Stretch tensed, teeth visbly gritting as he attempted to swallow his anger.

"We would die anyway if we told you " he choked out.

"but you two are otherwise valuable to your gang?"

"Yes."

"..." You pondered for a moment, a tense silence hung heavily in the air. "Fine. I will let you go."

Stretch was evidently surprised, "Wha-"

"-On one condition. We want the audience of 'Gaster' on our terms. Him and his right hand if required-nobody else. If you comply we will give Blue back to you."

"When and where?"

"Silver Cross territory, 61 jane st at the underground street fighting ring under the club at 9pm sharp next week." You paused, making sure he was paying attention, " Tell them your here for 'The Deck Of Cards'. They should take you to where you need to go."

"Whose 'they'?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"And what happens if the Don doesnt show?"

"Then I suppose Blue's wellbeing will no longer be a priority."

"...I want to talk to Blue before I go."

"I will get him. But there's will be others still present in the room."

You leave without waiting for a response, heading out to the back carpark. You leaned against the brick wall as Rodgers picked up the phone.

You explained that Blue was needed here, and was to be brought to the location immediately. You waited outside for their arrival. 

You waited in silence for fifteen or twenty minutes. It was still early afternoon, the sky was clear and the tempreture was pleasant. Although you have always been more of a rainy day type of person. You were out back of the building, so nobody was really around except for the occasional smoker who had stepped outside. 

Your eyes lifted from the pavement beneath you up to the black minivan that had pulled up in front of you. You recognized it as Rodgers. 

Everybody, Three males-including Blueberry stepped out except for a blonde bob cut women who sat at the steering wheel, parking and kicking her legs up on the dashboard.

"HEY!" Blueberry stumbled forward as the man beside Rodgers gave him a firm push forward towards you. Besides this, no harm was inflicted on the small skeleton, so you made no comment.

You stared down at Blueberry as he composed himself. He made no comment as he looked upward and met your nonchalant gaze.

Reaching forward, your arm brushed the side of his skull and you pull the light blue hood piled behind his neck up and pull it over his face, falling over his eyes. Blueberry Lifted a hand and used it to push it back up just enough to see as he stared at you questioningly.

"I thought I said to keep your hood up. We cant have people seeing and recognizing you." 

You left no tool for reply and turned on your heel, holding the door and standing out of the way for everybody to pass.  

Despite you being such a high figure of authority, you have always instictively been polite and well mannered-at least to those you could call an ally. There had been a point in time you had tried to break out of that habit, but it was hardly worth the amount of effort required. 

Nobody questioned this as they were use to this type of mannerism from you and walked through the door, Rodgers and the latino man with him keeping a watchful eye on Blueberry as they directed him to the meeting room.

Closing the back door you follow, you would give them five minutes to talk, before letting Stretch go.

You waited outside the room as Blueberry went in to meet his brother.

"BROTHER!!!"

A ghost of a smile tugged at your lips at Blueberry's muffled voice could be heard through the wall.

They were the enemy. You would do whatever it took to make sure your brother got his way. Ash would forever and always be your priority. But despite all that, you could respect the bond between family. 

You had a little brother of your own, after all. One you'd practically raised. If you were in a situation like this, any opportunity you got you would slaughter everybody who ever posed a threat to Ash. 

Glancing at the time on your phone you noticed it had already been five minutes. It wasn't clear what Blue was saying but you could hear him happily rambiling to his brother.

"Heh." You chuckled to yourself, crossing your arms and closing your eyss as you leant against the wall.

You could give them a little longer. 

-

It was very late by the time you got home, so you had stopped and gotten take out on the way home. When you informed Blue of this plan he was at first dismayed. It was then that you learned he hated greasy food. So you instead went to the healthiest alternitive you could find. He seemed satisfied at least.

Your brother was still out. He had stopped home earlier, as he was apparently going out on a date with that one girl, Yanny. You were glad that things were going well with him.

You would definitely need to be introduced to her later, and do a background check on her. And her entire family.

It's definitely not overkill, you assured yourself.

You ate quietly as Blueberry rambled on about his conversation with his brother. He appeared pleased and his guard was down. You didn't want to cut him off so you instead listened attentively until you found the right moment to try and manipulate the conversation. 

"HE LOOKED SO WORRIED! I'M SO GLAD THAT HE KNOWS I'M OKAY! I MEAN, COULD HE HAVE EVER OF REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY COULD BE DEAD! AND HE'LL BE BACK FOR M-"

Blueberry choked on his words, clearing his throat and looking back up at you, "THAT REMINDS ME. I...JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU."

You tilted your head to the side in question, not saying anything as you instead put food where words could be.

"FOR LETTING MY BROTHER GO... I KNOW YOU COULD HAVE JUST TAKEN HIM AND TORTURED HIM INSTEAD...BUT YOU DIDNT. I ALSO HEARD IF GASTER WERE TO COME MEET WITH YOUR DON AND COMPLY WITH YOUR DEMANDS YOU WOULD LET ME GO TOO... 

YOU'VE BEEN VERY NICE TO ME. I KNOW THAT IF YOU OR SOMEBODY ELSE WERE TAKEN IN FOR QUESTIONING BY US...WELL, THERE WOULD BE NO MERCY. SO...THANK YOU."

You simply stared at Blueberry for a few moments, as he shifted uncomfortably under your gaze. 

"While I am proficient in the use of violence, I do believe other methods to be effective in certain circumstances. After all, none of this is personal. Merely business. It is no great cost to try to sort this out in a more civilized manner."

"THEN...WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS AGAINST US?"

"That isnt my call to make. I merely follow orders."

"E-EVEN IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THEM?"

"My Don is my first loyalty and priority. My position allows me to have my say, and possibly influence certain decisions, but at the end of the day, I'm not the one who makes them."

Blue looked down and played with his food, he looked a lot less lively then before.

Shit. what were you suppose to do now? 

"Listen Blueberry. My Don acts how he sees fit. But he is not heartless. He's not going to go in and slaughter everybody. Of course..we will do whatever we believe necessary, but isnt that just how the world works? Each and every day is a fight to survive. Any and every moment could be your last in this world. You and everybody in your gang knew what you signed up for when you took up this life. 

If we believe your gang, or certain members within it no longer pose a threat to us and are of no more value, we will let them go. And besides, it is your Don that started this war between us. In our eyes, alliance is still not off the table." 

Blue continued to say nothing, head hung low as he stared down at his practically empty plate. 

Welp. At least you tried.

"YOUR RIGHT."

Your eyes flickered back to him, literal stars shone brightly from within his eye sockets. "WE WERE THE ONES TO START THIS FUED. BUT FRIENDSHIP IS ALWAYS STILL AN OPTION."

"Tch." Yet a small smile still threatened to grow on your lips. His positivity was infectious.

You stood from your spot and took both yours and Blue's plate taking them to the kitchen. You could hear the soft taps of his boots hitting the wooden floor from behind you. 

It brought you back to a time when you were young, your brother idly holding your hand as you directed him around, getting him dressed and ready for school in the worn and empty house. 

The pitter patter of his bare feet hitting the wooden floors as the walls shook at night as he raced to your bedroom. His small form leaping into bed with you, curling up against you, desperate to block out the noise.

You had tried so hard to block out everything for him. But certain things were inescapable. Or perhaps that was a poor excuse you made up because you didnt want to face the fact that you failed as an older sister.

You were brought out of your thoughts at the clank of plates being put in the sink. You turn to face Blueberry and he stared up at you expectingly.

He didnt appear to be too tired but bags had formed under his eye sockets. It was late. Your brother should be home soon. You may as well go to bed.

Making sure Blueberry was taken to his room and securely locked in, you head to your own bed. 

God you missed sleeping. 


	7. Chapter 7

A smile was stretched widely across your features. Ash was telling you all the details of his date last night, and it apparently went really well. They are having another next week. 

"So, when am I meeting the lucky lady?"

Your brother snickered, hands pressed on the counter as he leaned on the cupboards. "Yeah right. You'd scare her away."

"Heh. Only if I dont like her. So you better make sure I do."

"You will," your brother gave you a warm smile, "I think you really will."

You shoved your hands in your pockets, "Yeah well, I'm real' happy for you bro." you glanced out of the window, the sky was painted a pastel pink and gradually growing blue, which reminds you... "I suppose it's time to wake Blueberry up. There was this one open house today that I think you'd like, you should come with us."

"What time?"

" One O'clock."

"Alright. Send me the address later, I'll fit it in my schedule."

You pulled your little bro into a side hug, tenderly ruffling his hair, standing on your toes to do so as he returned the embrace. He was gigantically tall after all, a good 6'7.

Exiting the kitchen you leave to wake Blueberry up. 

Knocking on the door you immediately receive an answer. He must have already been awake. It was a bit later then the time you usually woke him up.

Unlocking the door, and you came face to face with Blueberry. Well not really. His face came up to about your chest, but that's beside the point.

He was already dressed, so you stepped out of the way for him. Looking inside, you note how clean the room was, even the bed was made. It was cute how much effort he put into keeping everything neat and tidy everyday despite being a literal prisoner here.

"What do you feel like for breakfast?" You asked, already fully aware of the answer.

"BREAKFAST TACOS!"

You rolled your eyes as you walked beside the ball of energy towards the kitchen. You had actually skipped out on eating breakfast with your brother earlier on because you know Blue preferred not to eat alone.

For whatever strange reason.

You had also allowed him to help you make them. His original method was certainly...questionable. But he has definitely improved since you started giving him subtle pointers and advice. And assuring him that using 'Edible' glitter was  far more tasteful then the regular type.

It was comical, really. 

You pulled out both hard and soft shells, as you preferred the soft shells, along with several other ingredients as Blue pulled out the pans and turned on the stove.

You didn't think Blue would try anything, especially at this point when everybody was pretty sure he would be let go by next week. In any case, you made sure to handle anything having to do with knives and other sharp equipment. 

With the way he originally made tacos, and seeing how that was the only thing he made, you werent sure if he knew how to make anything else. He did seem to enjoy cooking with a passion. You would keep note of that for later.

Sitting down to eat you left the dishes for another time-probably after Blue went to bed. You still needed to sort through those files, being able to control Richard would be a big win for you, you could have him go for mayor again, it wasn't too late. Even if he didnt win he'd still make executive, and having someone in that position would be very useful. The only problem was that it wouldn't be smart to do that with Blueberry around.

You had gotten so caught up discussing Ash's date last night you had completely forgotten to discuss the incident with Blue's brother. You would have to talk to him about it later.

Today you needed to converse with the Don of the silver cross-your allies. Usually it would be fine but you just needed everything confirmed. A phone call would have otherwise sufficed, but their Don preferred meeting in person. 

Plus they had territory to some of the prettiest strips in the city. Nobody really passed up the opportunity to go. 

Waiting for Blue to finish you follow the same routine as always. Blindfold, leading him around, helping him get in the car, etc.

It was a little annoying all the effort it took to have Blueberry around, especially because you had to close all the curtains and lock all of the doors while he was awake. But only a little.

It was about a half an hour drive, traffic wasn't awful but you did have to use a few main streets. By the time you were halfway there you let Blue take his blindfold off. He had sat quietly and stared out the window, only speaking once to ask permission to turn on the radio.

Some taylor swift song you werent familiar with came on, and first you didn't really acknowledge it until from the corner of your eye you noticed Blue swinging his legs and moving his head to the beat.

Heh. That was all kinds of adorable.

You could tell you were in the right place by the crowds of people on the sidewalk and all the clubs and Hotels that lined the street. You had to slow down significant to accommodate that large amounts of people and traffic.

It was still early morning, but with the amount of people here anyway, you could only imagine what it's like at night. Silver cross territory was Ebott's nightowls hotspot.

"WOWZERS. THERES A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE," Blueberry stated, shifting from the window to turn and face you. 

A smirk tugged at your lips from behind your mask. "First time here?

"WE ARENT ON FRIENDLY TERMS WITH SILVER CROSS...OR ANYONE REALLY. SO UNLESS WE WANT TO GET SHOT MONSTERS GENERALLY AVOID ALL OTHER TERRITORY." 

"All monsters?"

"NOT ALL MONSTERS ARE IN THE MAFIA, BUT THEY ARE STILL UNWELCOME IN MANY PLACES."

You hummed in thought as you looked for a parking spot. You weren't the most morally correct person, but you didnt agree with any types of racism. 

Besides, there was a small part of you that was fascinated by monsters. For once, humanity wasnt alone on earth. 

"Is that why you dont have any allies? Or even attempt to make any?"

"PARTIALLY."

"oh? What else?"

"OUR DON..." He started as you slowly maneuvered the car in to a free space, "HE IS VERY FOND OF VIOLENCE AND POWER." 

Not too unlike many other Dons. Your brother was the furthest thing from afraid of using violence, but he was self controlled, he knew where to draw a line. You supposed you did something right. He was a far superior boss than any in Ebott, because he wasn't heartless. He knew how to seperate work from his personal life. You couldnt be more proud with how far he's come.

"I see...well, I suppose I will have to show you around a bit while your with me." you shut off your engine and got out of the car, walking over to the passenger side to help him out. 

Upon noticing Blueberry's expression, you could tell he looked thrilled. You locked the car and Blueberry slipped his hand in yours. 

It was crowded so you make sure to keep Blueberry close, holding him just behind you towards your right hip so he could still see. 

You could feel Blueberry turn his skull in different directions every now and then to look around. You start down an alleyway besides the club, where the hidden enterance for the underground fight ring was located.

Lifting a hand to the door, you're interupted. 

"WAIT."

You paused and dropped your arm before moving away from Blueberry to turn and face him.

"JUST..ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA?" Blueberry wrung his hands, visably nervous, ''SILVER CROSS IS KNOWN TO BE A VERY ANTI-MONSTER GROUP..."

"Heh," you shifted your arms to cross over you chest, "Your with me Blueberry. Nobody is going to lay a finger on you unless they want to loose it, understood?"

He hesitantly nodded at you, and retook your hand. Turning to face the door you knocked confidently and waited.

"Password?" A muffler masculine voice asked from behind the metal door.

"I'm here for the deck of cards."

There was a pause, before the lock could be heard opening and you were granted access. You pulled Blueberry in with you when the man from behind the door stood in your way.

"Hold up. That things not allowed in here with you," the brunette commented, referring to Blueberry. You could feel his grip tighten in yours.

"He's mine." You stated simply. If you convinced him that Blue was more your property then company he should let you pass.

The taller male stared down at you, searching your expression before finally relenting. "Fine. But dont let it touch anyone."

You ignored that comment and lead Blueberry down the stairs, approaching a roaring crowd down below. 

"Wait!"

You turned to face the male questioningly.

"I'm suppose to guide people who use that code to my Don."

"I already know the way." You replied simply and continued downstairs.

You turn to face Blueberry, trying to figure out if a few words were needed to comfort him. He was quite sensitive after all. He stared silently down as he moved down the steps, face painted a light blue.

Huh. Was he embarrassed?

You thought he'd be more upset or mad with those comments that man made. Didnt really matter to you, he could react however he liked.

He already had to put up with your bullshit.

You mentally snickered at the last comment before taking a final step and entering a grande room. Two males where swinging punshes left and right in the middle of a ring, a large crowd circled them, large amounts of money held firmly in their palms as they cheered them on.

"Ever been to a fighting ring?"

"I HAVENT. BUT I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE."

You nodded in reply, leading Blue through the crowd. You noticed the dirty looks and comments he was getting and pulled him closer, the side of his skull pressing into your side.

You'd be pissed if anybody tried anything.

towards the back it was a lot less crowded, in front of you stood two men, standing either sides of the door you needed to go through. You once again stated the code, and they let you through.

Walking in your instantly greeted with Grayham. The Don of the Silver cross. His eyes quickly flicker to blue and his Grey orbs grow cold and harsh.

"Stitches. It's great to see you again," Grayham greeted with no real warmth, eyes still glued to the small skeleton and Blue shifted uncomfortably. He leaned forward from his desk and held out a hand, which you took without hesitance.

"It's definitely been a while."

Grayham pulled away and sat back in his leather chair, hands held together on the desk in front of him. 

"Alright. What is it you need?"

"We have business with the don of the White Phantoms. We would like to operate out of here."

"Well of course. When?"

"Six days from now, 9 at night."

"I see... And is this Don also a monster?"

"I believe so."

"And that...thing, clinging to you is your prisoner?"

"He is from our rival gang, correct."

Grayham paused, seemingly in thought. "Alright. But I would like you to do a favour for me in return. Not one of your men, you. I believe you have the skill set required for a task such as this."

"Before I agree, what are the details?"

"There is a mole in our ranks. We believe from their group," he nodded at blueberry, "I need you to find who it is and get rid of them."

You nodded at Grayham. Just how many gangs had Blue's group infiltrated?

"I see. I will need a list of names of all potential suspects."

"Of course. I will email it to you now."

You stood in silence as the Don in front of you worked on his laptop. You glance down at Blueberry to notice him staring up at you.

It didnt seem like he had anything to say so you looked back to the man in front of you. Your phone chimed, alerting you of a notification.

Retrieving the device you open up the email, scrolling through the list of about twenty names.

"This isn't too long," You commented.

"We had an incident a week ago, that proved the loyalty of everyone else. It has too be one of them."

"Alright. But why couldn't you do it yourself?"

"That isnt any of your concern."

You took the hint and stopped prying, moving on to the topic at hand. "All of them on duty?"

"They are all working back at our base."

Nodding you pocket your phone again. "Alright. We'll be leaving then."

"Yes. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

You left the room and started for the exit, walking past the bar. Most drinks served there were alcoholic but it seemed somebody had brought down smoothies from the club cafe upstairs. Looking down you notice Blue staring at them from afar.

They did look really good.

You shook your head. You suppose you had time to kill.

Suddenly changing directions caught Blue of guard, causing him to stumble. Thankfully seeing as he was so close you found it easy to steady him before he could fall. 

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

"Felt like a smoothie. Want one?"

"YES PLEASE!"

You smirked at the excitement in Blue's tone and brought him over by the bar.

"Two smoothies please," you told the bartender, before looking down at Blue "What flavour do you want?"

"MWEHEH, BLUEBERRY OF COURSE!"

You stared down thoughtfully at Blue, observing his currently star shaped eyes. "My favourite." Turning back to the bartender you stood up straighter, "Both Blueberry thanks."

The man in front of you nodded and walked over to a women also working behind the bench. She nodded at the male before hearing upstairs.

You took a seat while you waited and gestured for Blue to do the same. He looked over at the stool, and began to lift himself up as to sit on it, before slipping back to his feet at the last second.

You chuckled, causing Blue to pout, and you noticed what appeared to be a very faint blue glow, just barely visable on his cheeks. 

He was embarrassed! 

You hid a toothy smile from behind your mask and reached out to Blueberry, grabbing him from beneath the arms and lifting him in the air before sitting him down on the stool.

His face grew a deeper blue and he refused to look at you. Chuckling you thank the women who just sat the drinks down in front of you. 

You take a sip of your drink, It was really good. "Try yours," you insisted.

He hesitated before bringing the straw to his teeth. He lit up in an instant, "THIS IS VERY GOOD!" He spoke eagerly before drinking more. 

You both enjoyed your drinks in a confortable silence. Blueberry easily finished first so you quickly drank the rest and stood up, holding your hand out for Blue to grab.

As you started to leave Blue stops you, "ARENT YOU GOING TO PAY FOR THAT?"

You snickered and spared the skeleton a glance, "Nope."

-

You had the majority of the list marked off. Leaving only four more suspects to as who the mole could be. It was approaching one and you would need to leave soon.

Usually interrogations such as these took a lot longer, but Blue had unknowingly been a big help.

You entered the room again after a short break, where a platinum blonde haired male sat at a table in the centre of the empty room quietly.

His eyes immediately found yours, then Blues. A scowl tugged on his expression upon noticing the monster. That was just one of the things Blue unknowingly helped you with.

Whoever this mole was, would be someone who was pro-monsters. Even if they were quick enough to think of their feet as to pretend to hate monsters, you had plenty of other ways of determining the truth.

"Steven Brown. Correct?"

"Yes. What am I doing here?"

You approach the desk, pulling out a seat for Blue before taking your own.

"I'll be asking you a few questions. First, are you familiar with my companion here?" You gestured to Blue and studied his reactions carefully. 

You could only see confusion and unfamiliarity.

"No. I don't associate myself with those things," he answered, the harshness of his tone directed at Blue.

You were beginning to find these people really annoying, predictable too. 

You glanced down at the file on him you were given upon request, and read over it again.

"You have been a worker for three years now, is that correct?"

"Yes." 

"Are you happy with your position? With your gang?"

"What the fuck is this? Some sort of service review?"

You sighed, "Just answer the question."

"Well, I would love to move up the ranks. But so does everybody else. And if this is you questioning my loyalty to the don, well, you can go screw yourself. I was nothing before I met the Don. He gave me a home, money, a place and a purpose. 

I would die for my boss."

You search his expression, but the only thing you could find was honesty. The file had his alibi-which wasnt concrete, but definitely believable.

"Alright, you can go."

"Fucking finally," the man scoffed under his breath and left visably irritated. The both of you waited another thirty seconds for the next suspect to arrive, while you put a dot next to Steven Browns name, symbolizing that he had been cleared from suspicion.

The next suspect arrived, a young male, maybe 19, 20. He looked over to the two of you, visably jumping upon noticing Blue. Looking down you noticed Blue also appeared to recognize him.

You smirk from beneath your mask.

Found the mole.

The man moved to the other side of the table and sat down from across the two of you, trying hard to not look at Blue.

"Timothy Erwin, I assume?"

"Thats me," he didnt sound nearly as confident or hostile as everybody else. Having Blueberry here must of thrown him off.

"Do you know why your here?" You questioned.

"I'm not sure I do..." His eyes clicker back to Blue. 

He was too nervous, suspicious. You wondered how he was ever elected for a job like this.

"Don't lie. Everybody was previously informed of this interrogation and its purpose."

"...it's because you think I could be the mole, isn't it?"

Got him. 

"Heh. I lied."

 He appeared surprised, before meeting your eyes and stiffening in an attempt to look confident.

"What do you mean?"

"Nobody was informed of this interrogation or what it was about."

"..."

There was a silence before a screech from the chair abruptly sliding backwards pierced the air as he attempted to get away.

Pulling out your gun from you waist you pointed it confidently at the now standing man.

"Gun," you demanded, and he hesitantly gave it to you, which you the pocketed. From the corner of your eye you could see Blue's nervous expression.

Was he...sweating?

Not paying any more mind to blue you ordered Timothy to sit back down, upon him doing so you put your hand back down, still keeping a firm grip of it.

"You work for the White Phantoms," he nodded. "Alright, this is the situation. I've been given orders to kill you. Fortunately, there is another option. Answer a few questions, and i'll let you live."

At first he didn't answer, but after a few seconds he seemed to regain his voice. "I can't tell you anything."

"Why not?"

"Because if I do i'll die. And it'll be much more painful then anything you could do to me."

You felt a tuff one your sleeve and you looked over to Blue, who, still yelling, spoke quieter then he usually did, "IT'S TRUE..."

Well then. If you couldn't get anything out of him he would need to be taken care of.

"Alright. You will be coming with us then."

-

You had stopped home to change clothes, you didnt want to walk around in clothes possibly stained with blood. You had personally ensured Timothy was properly gotten rid of. You had taken the body to the usual dumping place and  ensured Blue didn't see or hear anything the entire time.

You suppose you were beginning to be protective of Blue. You still knew he was the enemy but you were growing fond of him. 

He would be returning back to his gang soon and that was definitely for the best. You couldnt be getting attached to the enemy. 

Blue was quite as you drove to the house you were going to inspect. 

"Have you ever killed someone before?" You broke the silence.

Blue looked up from his lap, "NO. STRETCH USUALLY TOOK CARE OF ALL THAT."

You focused on the road, "you look upset. Were you friends?"

"WE WERENT CLOSE BUT HE WAS NICE."

"Heh. Sorry about that. It was nothing personal."

A silence fell over thr vehicle and you took it as a sign that the conversation was over.

You were apparently wrong.

"YOU'RE...SORRY?"

Your eyes flickered down in Blue's direction, who was staring at you with wide eyes.

You shrugged, "It always sucks when someone you like dies."

"...YES... OF COURSE."

Blue turned to face out the window, but you could tell he wasn't feeling as down in the dumps as before.

Pulling up at the place you first had to drive down the long driveway. Blueberry had his blindfold back on, he would be able to see inside of the place, but not the outside. You couldn't risk anything.

The front door was already open, and several cars-including your brothers was parked outside. Helping blue get out of the car you make sure nobody sees him with his blindfold, taking it off as soon as you both got inside.

Steering clear of any windows you search for your brother, blue matching your pace besides you.

"You know, you dont have to hold my hand while we're here," you informed Blue. The small skeleton looked up at you before looking forward again, still holding his hand in yours.

You spot your brother and wave over at him with a free hand, upon noticing you he stops and waits for you to catch up.

"What do you think of the place?"

Your brother looked down at you, pursing his lips in thought, "I like it. A lot actually, it's got everything I need. You did well."

"are you going to put in a offer?"

"Definitely. Come out back, the pool's massive."

You raised an unseen brow in question, it was almost winter and he was excited about the pool? Some things never change. Your brother has always loved swimming. 

Blue seemed to be equally enthusiastic about seeing the pool and it brought a smile to your face. 

Your brother was right. The pool was absolutely gigantic. You could fit a small island worth of people in there.

From the way many other people also stop on the patio you could tell you werent the only one who was impressed. This house was at least twice as big as your last.

The three of you looked around the place for another ten minutes or so before the auction began. Everybody stood out back in front of the auctioner.

Lots of big numbers where thrown around, and for a while your brother and some older man went head to head for it. In the end your Brother had gotten the house for 15 million.

Which honestly was a mind boggaling number, but these days was nothing compared to the amount of money you were making. You suppose it stemed from your origins in poverty.

Your brother insisted he could handle the rest, so you and Blue returned back to work for the rest of the day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologizes for the shorter chapter...

The week went by really quickly. You took Blueberry practically everywhere with you, and not only did he not complain, but he also seemed to enjoy going out, even just for work.

You had put in an offer for your own home, and you and your brother would be moving out into your own homes after Blueberry is let free.  

You admit, it will take a while not only having to adjust to living without Blue, but without your brother too. Thankfully it was only a five minute drive from your house to your brothers. Both of you seemed pleased with that outcome.

You and Blue sat out back of a cafe, there was only one other person out there with you, but sat at the table furthest from you. Blue read over the lunch menu specials, you didn't know what you felt like, so you allowed him to choose for you. 

"THEY DON'T HAVE ANY TACOS HERE!" Blue exclaimed frustrated. The other person abruptly stood up, taking his coffee with him and left, grumbling under his breath.

You suppose he left because of how loud Blue was, but you didn't mind. You preferred having no one else around. 

"That sucks," you reply, cheek in your hand as you studied Blue's constantly changing expressions as he read through the choices.

"OH! WE SHOULD GET SPRING ROLLS FOR SIDES!"

"Sounds good to me."

A waiter soon came and Blue ordered everything for the both of you. You had to comend him on his choices, they either were, are sounded really good. 

You sat in silence until Blueberry spoke up. "SO, I SUPPOSE I WILL BE LEAVING TODAY."

You sat up and leaned back in your seat, crossing your arms over your chest casually. "Yeah. You'll go back to your brother."

"DOES THIS MEAN... I WON'T GET TO SEE YOU AGAIN?"

"Heh. I think we will. Our groups are still rivals, and now that we've got so much more information on your group, well, don't be surprised if I end up kidnapping you again. Maybe even your brother too."

"HA! THATS A VERY BOLD CLAIM."

"Hey, I did it once, I could do it again."

"ARE YOU SURE IT WOULDNT JUST BE BECAUSE YOU MISSED ME?"

"Heh. Maybe partially."

Blue jaw hung open slightly in surprise, you open your mouth to question this when he snapped it shut with an audible click and looked away from you, his face flushing just as blue as his hoodie.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, you didn't understand why he got randomly embarrassed like that, "Are you oka-"

A waiter comes out of seemingly nowhere and begin piling food on the table. You thank them and turn back to Blue who was already taking his first bite.

You drop the subject and begin to eat your food. Blue had ordered a chicken chimichanga for you, and frankly, it looked delicous and had ordered nacho's for himself. 

"SO THIS IS WHAT SPRING ROLLS TASTE LIKE! I THINK I LIKE THEM!" Blueberry spoke out of nowhere, finishing the spring roll he had already taken a bite out of, the pastry crunching under his teeth.

"You've never had one before?"

"NOPE!"

"Well, now you have. How are those nachos?" 

Blue looked back down to his plate grinning, "VERY GOOD TOO! I COMEND WHOEVER MADE THEM! YOU CAN TRY ONE IF YOU LIKE!"

You hadnt eaten nachos in a long time, they werent a favourite but if Blue said they were really good then you may as well try one. Reaching out you pick up one of the cornchips already covered in meat and other toppings, before throwing in in your mouth.

He had ordered the spicy type, which tasted good, but caught you off guard. After swallowing you drank a glass of water.

"WHAT DID YOU THINK?"

Your mouth was still occupied with the glass of water so you gave Blue a thumbs up. He seemed pleased with that. 

"Do you want to try some of mine?" You asked after recomposing yourself. It was only polite, seeing as he just gave you some of his.

"SURE!"

You picked up your fork and used the edge to saw off a portion of it, making sure everything including the sour cream stayed intact before you held it out for him to eat.

He looked surprised yet again and stared at the fork. 

Do he not like sour cream or something?

You were about to pull it back when he leaned forward, he faced deepening shades of blue the closer he got before he ate it off your fork. After doing so he quickly pulled back like he had been burned and you were momentarily concerned. 

He looked fine so you didn't comment, bring your fork down to get more for yourself. Blueberry's eyes had shrunk the size of pinpricks, and you could feel them following your fork, all the way to when you brought it back up to your mouth. 

After putting it in your mouth Blueberry's face burned the deepest shade of blue you had ever seen splashed across his features. Chewing and swallowing you asked if he was alright.

"Y-YES - OF COURSE! I MEAN- WHY WOULDNT I BE?"

Tilting your head to the side in question, you decide to let it drop. It's probably the fact he is going back to his gang, with his apparently sadistic boss thats putting him on edge.

...

You thought back to Timothy, the mole you killed the week before. About how he refused to tell you anything, because he was far more afraid of dying by the hands of his Don then by you.

You then thought of all the information you had gotten of Blue...

You hoped he would be alright.

"STITCHES," Blueberry addressed you by your nickname for the first time since meeting him, "I'VE HEARD PEOPLE REFER TO YOU BY THAT, BUT... IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN CALL YOU BY?"

You mentally scoffed, didn't he like your nickname? You shrugged, "If you don't like it you'll have to make up your own nickname for me."

"REALLY?"

You shrugged again, "yeah."

"WOWZERS! I WILL NEED TIME TO THINK OF THE ABSOLUTE  BEST NICKNAME FOR YOU!"

"Alright, take your time." 

-

This was it. You stood in the meeting room down at the fighting ring, five minutes before nine pm. To your right was your brother, and to your left was Blue. By the door was a man and a women, both armed. Everybody stood in silence as you waited for Gaster, and possibly Alphys, his right hand (wo)man.

 Blue stood close to you, holding your hand, only dropping it when the door swung open.

A tall skeletal male strode in, another shorter skeleton by his side.

It seemed those two had a thing for dramatic entrances.  The taller skeleton was dressed sharply in a black suit and tie. Instead of teeth his mouth appeared permantly stretch in a half-moon shaped smile, behind that was an empty void of darkness. Two scar like lines in his skull came from his eyes, the one on his right going straight up and the other straight down.

You did admit, his appearance alone could put someone on edge. The shorter skeleton reached to about the taller skeletons chest, so a bit taller then Blueberry. 

He had shark like teeth, with two crimson red pinpricks in his eye sockets to match the colour of his clothes.

"I believe you requested my audience." The taller one spoke. So that one was Gaster. 

Your brother cleared his throat, pulling out a seat at the end of the table to sit before gesturing at the seat at the other end of the table, "Yes, please take a seat."

Gaster did as told, sitting with grace unseen by you ever before. So this shorter skeleton was Alphys? He didnt really look like an Alphys, plus if you thought back, you thought you could vaguely remember Blueberry refering to them as a 'her'.

Your eyes meet the red pinpricks of 'Alphys', and he glares at you. You remain unfazed. Deciding to be the bigger person you look back to Gaster. 

From the way Blue shifted from foot to foot Alphys had probably redirected his attention towards Blue.

"I have asked for you here today to discuss the current tenstion between our two groups."

"Yes, we are well aware that we are at war."

"Of course, we had said if you complied with all our terms in meeting us here tonight we would give Blue back to you. A deal is a deal, after all, so no matter how this ends, as long as no terms are broken, you can have him back. 

What I would like to discuss is a truce between our two groups."

"I see... And a truce? Why? As far as we know you currently have the upper hand. So why stop now?"

"If you remember correctly, it was your group that started this rivalry between us. I am no pacifist, but I do believe with the control we both possess over the city, we could be very useful to each other."

"And why not just take that for yourself?"

"Because by using those methods would bring about massive amounts of unnecessary death. I am a Mafia boss- not a serial killer."

"You said that as long as no terms are violated that Blue would be returned to us, correct?"

Your brother nodded in confimation.

"Then no matter what is said, you will not take back on your deal?"

"Also correct."

"I see... Well then. I think your just weak."

A stunned silence fell over the room. You were not expecting that.

"Excuse me?" Your brother asked, confused with the sudden rudeness.

"You want power but your not willing to do everything you can to take it. People like you don't deserve such control. Therefore, you are below me."

Your brother opened his mouth before closing it again with an audible click. He sat up straighter and rolled his shoulders, as he swallowed down his fustration.

"So I take that as you decline our proposal?"

"Indeed."

Gaster looked up at Alphys, who hadnt taken a seat, much like you and Blue. "Red, bring Blue. We are finished here."

Red? As in Red Calibri? 

Red approached the two of you, reaching out for Blue and yanking him forward by the arm. You made no move to intervene, only watching as they walked back towards the door.

Gaster stood from his spot and as did your brother as they exchanged a few final words. As they walked through the door Blue looked over his shoulder and met your gaze, you meerly nodded at him, a silent 'goodbye'.

-

Well, the meeting with Gaster was a failure. It was an absolute shitshow after you told Rodgers and your brothers three capo's of the words discussed. They were pissed. 

"How fucking dare they disrespect our group-OUR BOSS, like that!"

"I'll fucking kill them! Every last one of them!"

The words rung in your head. You just hoped no one did anything too outrageous. 

You sat in your Brothers office, trying to find Richard Yennard files. Having dirt on him would be a big win for your group. Going through all of the names, you swore that the files had multiplied. 

There were hundreds of them.

You pick up the file from your lap and drop them on the stack of files you had already checked.

Opening and closing files you finally come across the one you need. 

You immediately run your eyes over the file, reading through the information.

Holy. Shit.

This dude was a real criminal! Bribes, fraud, framing oppositon, money laundering... All of this combined was enough to put him away for life.

Heh. You had a few phone calls to make.


	9. Chapter 9

F/n = Fake name 

 

You helped load boxes in the van, you were first moving all of your brothers stuff to his new home, and then you would do yours. 

From what remained in the storage unit, your brother had many more possessions then you did. You were never as materialistic as Ash. The more you loaded the van the more you were certain not everything would fit. In the end you had to shove a few boxes in the front. 

Hopping into the passengers seat your brother started up the vehicle. 

"So, How did you and Yanny's second date from the other day go?"

Your brother glanced over to you with a small smirk, "Really well. I have high standards after all."

You scoffed and readjusted in your seat, "Not turning into one of those posh people we used to make fun of as kids are we?"

"Please. I'm the furthest thing."

"Mhm right whatever you say mr.suit and tie."

"That's not posh! That's just dressing nicely."

"Only Posh people put effort into their clothing."

Your brothers snort causes a toothy grin to paint itself on your face as you stared out the front window smugly.

"You, dear sister, just have no sense of style."

"Excuse me! What I wear is cool," you lifted your hands up to show of your black fingerless leather gloves.

"You dress like a teenager going through a faze."

"Tch. Jesus. Didnt I ever teach you to respect your elders?"

"Just because you look old enough to be considered an elder doesnt mean you're actually old enough to be one."

Damn. Your brother was roasting the shit out of you today. And it brought a smile to your face. Your brother was so fucking cool.

"Yeah yeah just wait until your my age. You'll be sick of all those punks younger then you thinking they're bigger and better." 

"Heh. You make it sound like your eighty, and not twenty four."

"With the crap I put up with daily I feel like I'm eighty."

Your brother chuckled quietly, pulling up the driveway of his new home.

"Yeah. We could definitely do with a holiday sometime huh?"

"Took you long enough to realize." 

Parking you both leave the car. Your brother throws you the house keys as you go to open the front door.

Your help lift and move boxes in and out of the house to the rooms written on the top. There was a lot to move  and many hallways and rooms to navigate. All the bigger furniture from your old house  was left there and would be sold so both of you can buy new furniture for both your homes.

Sweat began to form on your forehead as you worked. You thought back to Blueberry and wondered how he was doing. 

You wondered if he got in trouble for the information he gave you, or if they even found out about that at all. 

Putting the last of the boxes down you lift an arm and use your sleeve to wipe the sweat off your forehead. "Hey bro," you called out.

Your brother ducked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a hand towel he must have taken out of a box. "Yeah?"

"Want to go get some smoothies?" A shared favourite.

He gave you a toothy grin and threw the towel back into the kitchen somewhere, "Harleys?"

"Yeah."

You both head outside, locking the door behind you. You insist on driving and your brother reluctantly agreed, probably recalling several memories of your driving from you were younger.

The cafe 'Harleys' was a favourite of both you and you brother. It was one of those hidden treasures in the city. While the food there was mediocre at best, they made a mean smoothie.

You held the door open for your brother before walking in yourself. Only a the odd person was inside, usually by themselves.

You approached the counter and are greeted with Isabella, who had been working here for the past two years. 

"Ah! F/n! Oh and you brought your brother! It's been a while."

"Yep. Definitely."

"The usual?"

"That'd be great thanks." 

"Just take a seat your drinks will be ready soon!"

You nod and your brother finds a table for both of you. He pulls a chair for you before taking his own seat. 

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"So, now that we have the rest of the day off, got any plans for tonight?"

Your brother hummed thoughtfully, "Not yet. I might give Yanny a call and see if she's free." 

"Two dates in three nights?"

He shrugged. Oh well, who were you to question what your brother did with his free time "What about you? Any plans of your own?"

"Well Rodgers and a few of his friends planned to go drinking tonight. They invited me."

"They invited you? I didn't hear anything about this."

"That's because i'm the cool sibling."

Your brother scoffed, "Whatever, guess i'll just have to be the hot sibling."

You rolled your eyes at your brother as Isabella came up to your table and gave you your drinks. Your brother thanked her and you sipped on your blueberry smoothie. Your brother had a strawberry and mango. 

"So, sorry to drag everything back to business, but what are your thoughts on Papyrus Serif?"

"You mean what should we do about him?" you clarified. Your brother nodded in response. You moved to rest your chin in your hand, "Well, we could get Richard to run for mayor again. Even if he lost he'd still make executive. As for Papyrus... Well, we could kidnap him and use him for ransom."

Your brother shrugged, "We could.... Any other ideas other then elimination?"

"We could set someone up to follow him around. See if we can locate one of their bases of operation. By doing that we risk that person being found out. It would have to be someone who didnt know anything."

"We could always hire someone."

"True," you played with your straw before taking another sip. 

"I think that's the most sensable idea. I will arrange for someone to tail him later."

"That reminds me, isn't there some protest going on outside city hall later today?"

"I think so, are you thinking of going?"

"Yeah, i'll probably stop by and check things out."

"Sounds fun."

"Tch. Right."

Finishing off your drinks you and your brother spoke idly. After finishing your pulled out your wallet and left a generous tip on the table, before exiting the building.

-

You seriously underestimated just how many people would be here. You had gone to check out the protest, only to have to park two streets away because there were no other spots. The streets were extra busy, and you were trying with difficulty to avoid contact of any kind with the crowd around you. At least you werent getting any strange looks because you could now walk around without your mask.

You had at first insisted your brother also wear a mask, but he refused. You supposed thats why his identity got compromised for a second time. It was extra trouble, but he obviously didnt want to have  mask, so you stopped trying to convince him.

The closer to you got to city hall you got the louder the chanting got and the denser the crowd. You eventually made it to the main mob. Signs were held up In the air and it felt as if everybody was screaming in your ear. You werent completely certain what they were yelling. 

Moving to the side you attempt to get a better look at the signs. You squeeze through people and maneuver around the ones that refused to move.

As you approach the front a loud microphone shrieks. The crowds chanting begins to die down, and you figure it's to listen to whoever was about to speak. 

Managing to move to the front of the crowd and getting a clear view, you notice the person standing in front of the plastic podium. Papyrus Serif.

"Ahem. Hello, I Have Volunteered To Speak To You All Today! I Understand You Are All Upset With The Recent Discovery, And I Want To Let You Know That We, At The City Hall, Do NOT Stand For Curruption Of Any Sort. "

Corruption? Had someone been caught for their crimes? You had no idea what the massive outrage was about. If people didnt already know just how corrupt the city hall already was they were even more ignorant then you previously thought.

"Richard Yennard WILL Be Brought To Justice, And Serve A Long Time In Prison For His Offenses."

Your heart skips a beat and your jaw slacks. Spinning on your heel you finally read the signs everybody was carrying.

'Down With Richard Yennard!'

'Get rid of city parliment corruption!'

'Richard Yennard behind bars!'

"He Is Currently Being Taken In Custody Of Authority's As I Speak. I Am Papyrus Serif, Vote Papyrus For Mayor! Have A Good Day!"

The crowd cheers and begins to disperse. Dammit. Of course. The White Phantoms already knew that you would now have control over Richard Yennard, so they got rid of him before you could even do anything!

Damn Gaster. 

You walk back to your car, pulling your phone to your ear as you ring your brother. He doesn't answer, so you instead send him a text informing him of the situation, glancing up every few seconds to make sure you dont run into anybody.

Sitting inside the car, you rested your forehead on your steering wheel. You had lost your greatest asset before you could even use it.

You put the keys in the ignition, Rodgers and everybody wouldn't arrive at the Ebott Dawn Strip for another hour or so, but you figured some time to yourself would be good for you. 

It was a longer drive then necessary with all the traffic, the dawn strip was already on the opposite side of the city. 

It wasn't quite late afternoon, so it wasn't as busy as it would be when the sunsets, but that was just fine with you. 

Finding a decent parking you enter one of the clubs that appeared to been the most populated. It would be awkward sitting at a bar in an empty space.

Glancing up as you walk through the enterance you catch the name of the place, 'Wild Vibes'. 

Huh. This was the place you were going to meet up with everybody anyway. But.. 'Wild Vibes'... Where had you heard that before?

Deciding that it probably didnt matter, you ignored the thought and instead began to inspect the room. There were quite a few early birds, all probably wanting to ensure a place inside.

Not feeling like interacting you head over to the bar. Your a little out of place with your attire. You had on a black leather jacket and jeans, which was quite casual compared to the short cut dresses and button up shirts everybody else was wearing. You dont let it bother you.

Taking a seat on one of the stools you notice nobody was there. You turned away in your seat as you watched the DJ finish setting up and starting the music. 

People hesitantly crept out from the corners of the room towards the dance floor, not wanting to be the first one there. It didn't take long for a small crowd of people to form in the center of the floor. 

It was amusing to see them awkwardly jump and push into each other as they danced to the beat. Maybe you'd join them later when Rodgers was with you. 

There's no way you could do that sober.

"Can I get you anything?"

You turn on your spot to see a fire monster of some sort dressed in a vest and bow tie behind the counter. 

So this was probably a White Phantom establishment...no wonder this place sounded so familiar.

"I'm good for now," you informed the man, " I can't get drunk just yet and there's no way I'm dancing sober," you continued to explain, sitting on an angle to see both the dance floor and the fire elemental. 

"Waiting for a few friends?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm about an hour early, but I didn't have anything better to do."

The man chuckled before leaning forward on the bench to talk to you, his chin in his palm "Your not exactly dressed in what I would describe as party attire."

You glanced downwards to meet the bartenders 'eyes', "heh, i can tell you right now that none of them are going to be dressed any better."

"Ah, i see," Two other girls, one dressed in short cut crimson colored dress and the other in a longer royal purple dress, with a cut on the side that showed off her hip and leg, walked up to the bar, "If you'd excuse me." 

The fire man walked over to the girls who giggled between each other happily. Both appeared to be having a good time, and both looked stunning. 

You idly wondered if being able to dance in heels like those could be considered a talent. 

As time went on the club gradually grew fuller, until finally, Rodger and four of his friends showed up.

You were correct in assuming that none of them would be dressed any better then you. Well, the brunette to his left at least tried, dressed in a purple button up and a matching fadora. 

Rodgers was the first to notice you and immediately strode in your direction, his group following behind him.

"Hey F/n!" You don't believe any of his friends were from your group, you noted before looking back at Rodgers, one of the only people to know your position in the mafia and your public identity.

"Hey." 

"I see you saved us some spots!" He commented, you looked over to the several free spots either side of you. That wasn't intentional. "Heh yep. Take a seat."

Rodgers sat to your left, and the only other female in the group to your right. She was dressed in a skirt and a Nirvana T-shirt, hair died fluro pink.

You introduced yourselves and made idle chat with each other while Rodgers and the purple hat dude ordered shots for everyone.

The bartender definitely knew what he was doing, and in under a minute all six of you had your drinks.

One of the other males in the group started to count down for all of you to take your shots at the same time. 

"5!..4!..3!..2!..1!"

You all swung your heads back at the same time, and you could taste the liquor burning the back of your throat. You weren't very fond of the taste of that particular shot but swallowed it anyway.

You had more of a sweet tooth.

You then all proceeded to head to the dance floor. You definitely werent ready for that. You didn't know if everybody you were in company with were shameless or total lightweights, but you were neither.

You begrudingly moved to the beat after Jazmine (the women with the nirvana shirt) kept trying to convince you. She fist pumped the air in victory.

You had tried to make sure to put minimal effort into what you were doing, but somehow got carried away and now were doing the moonwalk in front of everybody.

A few people cheered at you before the attention was finally divided and everybody started dancing on their own again. 

You were partially mortified upon the realization of what you had just done, and decided to head back to the bar for another drink. 

Taking a seat you waited patiently with your face in your hands for the bartender to come over to you.

"Your not half bad at dancing."

You looked up, dropping one hand as you rest your chin in the other. "You saw that?"

The man chuckled, little sparks of fire crackling at the ends of his flames, "I did. Can I get anything for you?"

You sat up and rested your hands on your lap, "Something sweet, thanks." 

He nodded at you before moving back to prepare your drink, you watched with interest as he did so. Thirty seconds later a fluro purple and blue cocktail of some sort was put in front of you. 

Picking the glass up you inspected the drink thoughtfully. This looked really good.

Taking a confident sip you are not disappointed. The concoction was fruity and sweet, a mix of blueberry and grape. 

"This is really good," you complimented.

He merely nodded in reply. "I see you were right."

You take another sip of your drink and raised a brow in question.

"Your friends didnt dress up any better either."

You snickered, "Did you doubt me?"

The bartender gave you a firey smirk, "Could you blame me?"

"Heh. Suppose not." 

You watched everybody dance from the corner of your eye. Every time he was free the bartender would stop to talk to you, seeing as your the only one who stuck around and you had to admit, he was pleasant company. 

The fire elemental had just moved from you to go serve a few other people who just showed up, so you spun in your seat and inspected the crowd. 

You had drank a fair few drinks by this point, and you were beginning to feel the alcohol take effect. Luckily you knew how to hold your liquor, and you were only a little drunk.

You didn't trust yourself enough to get too drunk.

Your eyes rolled over the room, humans and monsters alike mingling. That's when a certain lanky figure began to approach the bar. 

You look over at them. It was a Skeleton, but not just one of the skeletons that worked in the White Phantoms- it was the skeleton you thought you had killed.

A scowl was seemingly permanently spread across his skull, deepening upon noticing the only free seat being beside you. 

He sat down without sparing you a glance, making sure to keep everything tucked in so as to avoid contact with the two humans beside him.

You refrained from chuckling at the skeletons behaviour. Since he was another skeleton, then sense would say that this would be Edge Calibri, Red's brother. 

Well. This night certainly took an interesting turn of events.

Deciding to try your luck you turn to face the angry monster as he receives his drink. 

"Hey," you greeted casually.

He merely scoffed at you and made it pointedly obvious he didnt want to talk as he turned to face away from you. 

"Heh. Nice to meet you too," you grinned, taking another sip of your most recent drink.

A growl erupted from the skeletons throat(?) And he turned to face you. "AS IF I WOULD FIND ANY ENCOUNTER WITH FILTH SUCH AS YOU 'NICE'"

You raised your eyebrows in surprise, you lips twitching as you forced back a grin. Well, he was honest. 

You decided to ignore his comment. "So, come here often?"

Edge visibly gritted his teeth, crossing his arms over his chest, "AND WHY WOULD THAT BE ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS?"

You shrugged, "Just trying to make conversation."

"WELL YOUR NOT VERY GOOD AT IT."

Inspecting your drink, you threw your head back and finish whats left of It, before placing it on the counter beside you. "Fine then, what do you want to talk about?"

"NOTHING IF IT'S WITH YOU," He remarked.

You know, if you looked past the fact he probably meant everything he said, you'd find his comments quite amusing. 

"So you wouldn't want to talk to me even if I was the only other person alive in the world?" 

"IF YOU WERE THE ONLY OTHER PERSON ALIVE I'D SIMPLY PUT MYSELF OUT OF MY MYSERY."

Laughter escaped your lips, his scowl visibly deepened again as he turned to glower down at you. "WHATS SO FUNNY?"

You shrugged, figuring 'You' wouldnt be the best answer.

The skeleton rolled his pinpricks before picking up his drink and bringing it up to his teeth. 

"You dont seem to be in a particularly good mood. Did i catch you on a bad day or are you always this pissy?"

Edge put his glass down before glaring at you, "I'M ALWAYS 'PISSY' AS YOU SAY, BECAUSE I'M CONSTANTLY BEING BOTHERED BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU."

"Oh I see, I'm not very fond of people either."

"IRONIC. I IMAGINE IF YOU WERE SOMEONE ELSE YOU WOULD BE APART OF THOSE GROUP OF PEOPLE YOU DIDNT LIKE."

"Heh." You were being absolutely roasted today. First your brother, now Edge. Maybe this was a sign. "What about you?"

"WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"Would you be fond of yourself if you were someone else?"

Edge was silent beside you, and you spared him a glance. He didnt appear to be upset, rather in thought. You shifted in your seat and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"PERHAPS."

You quirked an eyebrow, and leaned against the counter while facing the skeleton. "Mmh alright. I won't pry."

"WHAT IS THIS? A HUMAN THAT ACTUALLY MINDS THEIR OWN BUSINESS?"

You snorted, "I know, I'm a rarity."

Edge tried too look skeptical, "I THINK YOUR GETTING TO FAR AHEAD OF YOURSELF HUMAN."

"Jeez, let a girl feel special, won't you?"

"I'D BE LYING."

You chuckled at his dry humour. You admit this wasnt how you thought this conversation would go down, but you were pleasantly surprised.

You were about to speak again when Rodgers stumbled out from the crowd and turned to address you. "Hey, me and the others are gonna go. We've called a Taxi, they should be outside soon."

You nodded at him, and he turned to walk away. You looked back up at Edge, before standing up yourself.

"Well, I suppose i should get going too then."

"FINALLY."

A grin stretched across your face as you pulled out your wallet, grabbing out a hundred dollar bill and putting it on the bench for the bartender.

You were a little whoozy and in a good mood. You were feeling a little generous.

"Anyway, I suppose I'll be catching you around..." You trail off, silently asking for his name despite you already knowing it.

Edge scoffed at you, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fine mystery man, keep your secrets." 

You turned on your heel, giving the skeleton a half wave goodbye, in which he didnt return, but you didn't mind. He had his reputation to keep up after all.

You exited the building, and considered your options. You really didn't want to leave your car here, but you also knew you were probably just a little too drunk to get away with driving. 

You sighed before pulling out your phone and calling a taxi.

The late night chill helped you sober up a little bit. The streets were still busy, thriving with life, and would continue to do so until dawn. Hence the name of the strip. 

Five or ten minutes later your ride home finally pulled up. You hopped in the backseat and gave the driver your address, staring out the window as you drove off.

It was a clear night, and the stars were visble. There was a lot of light pollution from the city, so you couldnt seem them as well while you were in the city.

You thought about your new home. You would have to hire someone to paint the galaxy on the roof of your bedroom, much like you had tried to do for your brother when you were kids.

You smiled fondly at the memory. Your brother had developed an interest in them, and his birthday was coming up. 

You didnt really have anything, so you couldn't do much, but you wanted your brothers eighth birthday to be special. Hell, you wanted every one of his birthdays to be special.

You had stolen a whole heap of paints from school and brought them home with you. The entire day his birthday was spent trying to make his roof and walls look like the night sky.

Now, neither of you were a vincent van gogh, and it turned out to look more like blue with random white pocka dots, but your bro had so much fun.

The both of you had made a real mess, and you got in so much trouble. 

Your body ached for weeks after that...

Your thoughts are interupted as you pull up to the safe house you were staying at. It would be your last night there before you moved into your own home.

You paid and tipped the driver, before thanking him and bidding him a good night.

Entering the building, everything appeared to be the same, but just knowing that nobody was here, and from now on returning home would always be like this. It was daunting.

The silence was deafening. You locked the front door and went back upstairs to go to bed.

You just wanted to forget everything.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter

You woke up with a bad headache. Sitting up in your bed, sheets had stuck to your skin and pillows had found themselves on the floor. You must have not slept very well. 

Clenching your teeth you shuffle downstairs to the kitchen, head in your hands. You head pulsed and you thought back to the night before, it had been a while since you last had a drink. You must have lost your touch.

You filled up a glass with water repeatedly until your thirst was quenched before resting your arms on the bench and your face in your hands. You recalled the night before without any trouble, you werent that drunk after all. 

You had met Edge Calibri, brother of Red, the person who imposed as Gasters right hand? Interesting pair those two were. 

Though you had to admit that Edge's company was at the very least amusing. Perhaps you would go back to that bar some time. That club also belonged to Blue and his brother, meaning it was probably a hotspot for members of his gang. You could keep an eye out for things while you were there too.

So far you knew the higher ups of the White Phantoms were all skeletons. The Calibri family (Red and Edge), the Chicago family (Blue and Stretch), the Serif family (Papyrus and Sans(?)) And Gaster.

Noticing the pattern of pairs in the skeletons, you wondered if Gaster had a brother of his own. Maybe even a ... sister (Alphys?)

Taking in a deep breath you straighten back up, looking around momentarily, before idly heading back upstairs. You needed to shower.

Today was the day you were going to move all of your things into your new home. A home all by yourself. 

The first time you've ever lived without Ash.

You ignored the aching feeling in your chest. You couldn't ever let your emotions get in the way of what needed to be done. They made you weak.

Not paying it a second thought you stripped, kicking your dirty clothes to the side on your bathroom floor. Your skin prickling from the cold while you waited for the shower to adjust to the appropriate tempreture, before walking underneath it.

You instantly relaxed, shoulders slumping. 

Alone.

You've never really been afraid of being alone. You still arent now. But the nostiglia got to you, realizing just how far you had come, remembering how long it had been since...back then.

Maybe it was finally occuring to you that you both werent going to live forever, and both of you were going to grow up sooner or later. That both of you wouldn't always be together.

A lump formed in your throat. You turned your fists into balls, taking your head off the wall after realizing you had left it there. Damn. You had started thinking about it again.

You had promised your brother your full and undevided loyalty. Sworn to protect him from the moment you laid eyes on him. He was your brother, and you dedicated your entire life to him.

You were only truly happy when you knew he was too. The only thing that ever mattered to you was Ash, you lived for him.

And here he was, falling in love with some girl. You were happy for him. You had seen the passion, the excitement, the hope and the adoration in his eyes every time he talked about her.

Like she was his everything, and nothing made you happier.

He had learned how to live in the present. And perhaps it is because of the way you sheltered him as a child, prevented him from seeing just the full extent of what you did. But either way, you were still stuck in the past.

And frankly, you were quite certain you always would be. Settling down, inviting others in your life..trusting others. It wasnt for you.

You were still stuck in this mindset of 'it's you and your brother vs the world'. You were raised and taught to trust no one. That emotion was weak, that morality was weak.

That it was a dog eat dog world. Survival of the fittest.

However you want to put it.

You had seen the full capabilities of people. You couldn't trust anyone but your brother. Hell, you didn't even trust youself.

Everybody was capable of murder, of ruining anothers life. Sometimes it took more pushing then others. 

But everyone got there in the end.

You had seen some of the brightest, most naive smiles been completely wiped off people's faces. Seen the most lively of even children become nothing more then just barely alive hollow shells. You had seen the people who deserved it the least be broken and shuned by the world and everybody around them.

Anybody could be broken. Everyone was capable of indescribable cruelty. 

'Just because they're your friend today, doesnt mean they will be tomorrow.' The drunken words were burned into the back of your mind.

You were stuck. 

You had allowed yourself to be broken beyond repair.

You stared down at your hands. Listening to the way the water hit the floor and fell down the drain. Trying to calm your ragged breathing.

You closed your eyes and focused on the darkness. Focused on the sound of the shower.

Your hands. Those hands of yours, what kinds of things had they done?

You didnt feel any regret. Not even for a second.

It was for your brother, for your survival. You did what you had too. 

But those hands... Those lives... 

You were never violent at heart. You never wanted to be this way. You saw what the world, what everyone was doing to you, pushing you to doing, you saw it coming. You didn't want to do it.

But you couldn't do anything about it.

Your eyes shot open in a start. Your phone rung from the other room. You waited a second, hesitant to leave the pleasantness of the hot water rolling down your back.

You begrudingly turned the shower off, wrapping a towel around you before walking back into your room to answer your phone.

"You need to get here right now!"

"Why, what happened?"

"Your brother, he's in Hospital."

-

This damn brother of yours. He was always getting into trouble. 

Admittedly, he was the don on a wealthy and powerful gang, but this was just too often.

Rodgers, the one who called you, had assured you that Ash was fine and had only sustained minor injuries, so you decided to make a pit stop on the way there. You had gotten some chocolate bullets and an arrangment of other sweet favorites of his to bring with you.

You walked through the front entrance with purpose. You already knew what wing he was at, now you just needed to find that.

You followed the signs, travelled up a few flights of stairs and circled round a few corridors before finding his room. 

There sat your brother, sitting in a hospital bed, facing Rodgers and MetalHead, all three laughing like old friends.

Clearing your throat, you made your presence known, all three faces turning to look at you.

"Ah, f/n, please sit down."

Metalhead didnt know who you were without your mask on.

You merely nodded, walking around the bed to the table and dropping the lollies and chocolates. You watched with a pleased smile as his expression lit up before taking a seat beside the bed yourself.

"Well boss, I guess I better get going," Metalhead spoke, glancing curiously at you.

"Of course, I will be seeing you soon."

"Me too Boss. We'll leave you two alone.." Rodgers cut in. 

You were thankful for the privacy, and you knew your brother was too. Neither of you could relax properly if other people other then the two of you were around.

The two men left the room with a wave, closing the door behind them.

You looked back over to Ash, who was pulling open the packet of chocolate bullets with a 'pop'.

"So, care to explain what exactly happened?"

"Ugh," your brother groaned, before dropping in several of the chocolates in his mouth.

You snickered, moving your hands to rest on your hips,  "What, was it something embarrassing?"

Your brother moved his hand in front of him as if it say 'Wait' as he finished chewing. "I got mugged."

"By who?" You swore if it was someone from the White Phantoms you were going to be-

"Nobody. Just some random thugs."

You raised an eyebrow curiously, "Are you sure?"

Your brother pushed himself up to sit up straightener before sighing, "Yes, I'm sure."

You paused, your eyes boring into your brothers. 

"Welp. I suppose thats a good thing. Means that your identity hasnt been comprimised AGAIN."

"Heh," your brother put the bag down and reached over for his cup, taking a long sip of whatever was inside before continuing, "That has only happened two times."

"Two more times then it should have."

"C'mon, give your brother a break. I'm in hospital."

You rolled your eyes before retucking your hands in your pockets, "Fine, i'll let you off this time."

Your brother chuckled knowingly, "That's what you say everytime."

"Don't push your luck."

Ash just grinned, throwing his hand back in the packet to search for more of the treat.

A silence enveloped the room for a few seconds while neither of you had anything to say.

"So,  how bad are your injuries?"

"Eh, dislocated my shoulder, few bruises. Fractured a rib though."

"You getting medicine for that?"

"Yeah. Hey, weren't you supposed to move all your stuff into your new house today?"

"Yup. Then I found out your sorry arse was in hospital."

"Heh, sorry."

You shrugged, "it's no problem."

"...so, how was the night out?"

You looked back over to Ash and grinned, "it was fun."

"That's good."

You walked over to your brother and reached out for him, he returned the favor without hesitation, pulling you into a warm hug.

"I love ya bro. You know that?"

"Of course. How could I not with you always reminding me?"

You grinned into his shoulder, but gave no reply.

"Love you too," he whispered gently to you, "Y/n."

-

You had stayed and talked with your brother for a few hours before leaving to start moving all of your belongings. 

You had packed the van and started driving, listening to the radio idly while you drove. You tapped your fingers on the steering wheel to match the beat of the song playing before turning right and driving down your street.

Your new home was three story's, two above ground and one below. It was modern, brand new and most importantly, rediculously expensive. 

Not that money was a problem for you.

The yard was big and almost foresty, and the house had a long driveway, so as to give the residents of the home privacy. 

You parked out front and picked up your keys for the front door. You stood and stared at the house. This was your new home.

By yourself or not, you were going to learn to love it.

You opened the front door before heading back to pick up boxes and other miscellaneous items, dumping them in their deticated rooms.

You still had to order all the larger furniture, but you had brought your mattress along, so you at least had somewhere to sleep for now.

You had originally thought having two kitchens (one on the ground floor and one on the floor above it) was a little overkill, but after coming up with a devious plan you had decided otherwise.

The kitchen on the ground floor, being the one closest to the dining took, would naturally be the one used for cooking when guests came over. You could fill that with the healthier items. But upstairs, closer to both your bedroom and your lounge room.

Well, thats where you could keep your junk stash.

The one you had to previously hide in fear of your brother finding it and eating everything. It was back, and it was going to be bigger then ever.

You grinned to yourself as you worked. Pulling out and putting everything of what you owned. Which was considerably less then you had previously realized.

You needed to go out and go shopping some time.

Going shopping reminded you of Blueberry. He always was good company. 

You, yet again, wondered what he was up to. 

You were almost excited really, to find out what devious plot he had come up with. If any at all.A battle to see who could kidnap the other first. It made your blood rush in thrill. 

That would be very, very interesting.

But you had the upper hand here, you knew who he was, where he lived, where he worked, and he didnt even know what you looked like without a mask.

You were undoubtably going to win.

Walking back outside to the van you pull out the last item, your mattress. You didnt have too much trouble except when you had to push it upstairs, which was annoyingly difficult, but you managed. 

Collapsing on your matress, you felt it bounce under you weight, causing all of you to shake as the bed settled down.

Turning to lay on your back you faced the roof of the room. 

Soon there would be stars there.

You were determined to have it done. Sometime soon. 

Your mind was blank for the next few minutes, as you stared mindlessly into the void.

So much had happened. So much was happening. 

You were in the middle of probably the deadliest gang war you've ever participated in, and it has hardly started. 

You knew that sooner or later things were sure to get real violent. You just hoped your group wasn't the receiving end.

You closed your eyes and decided  to think about lighter topics. You were in another part of the city now, you didnt come around here often, as this was borderline White Phantom territory.

You supposed you would have to check out the local area, see if you can find any good cafe's or bakerys, and also get to know the place better.

You preferred to have the upperhand lf knowing thr territory well if things came down to it.

And there you go. Back to the morbid thinking.

You rolled your eyes at yourself. You really couldn't help it could you?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, another shorter chapter.

You had seen lots of quaint little cafe's in this area. It seemed that there were quite a lot of them here, along with many other resturants. Some sort of food district, you supposed.

You had been taking pictures of different restaurants and cafe's that caught your eye and sent them to Ash, as ideas of where to take Yanny for another date.

It appeared the two were really hitting it off. And you were eager to meet her.

Crossing the road your sure to check both ways. Being who you are it would be especially unfortunate to have been taken out in a car accident. 

Plus you didn't feel like dying today.

A purple cafe across the street had caught your eye, 'muffets'. You had never heard of it before, but from the amount of people walking in and out, you could safely assume it was popular.

If it turned out to be a good place to eat, you would have to find out a time when less people came in. Perhaps early morning or late afternoon.

You pushed open the glass door, a bell chiming to alert everyone of your entry. A few people spared you a glance, before returning to whatever it was they were doing.

Looking to the counter your pleasantly surprised to find a spider monster of some sort working there. It was pleasant, because that probably meant all the food here was magic Infused.

You hadnt tried much monster food before, but from your experience monsters were culinary masters. Or at least, it was better then regular food. Perhaps because the magic gave it a sweeter taste, and you were a sucker for sweet things.

You joined the que, looking up at the menu in thought. You were now debating between the caramel pudding and blueberry pie. 

You furrowed your eyebrows, taking a step forward as the line progressed.

At least you had chosen a drink. You favourite flavour thickshake. You wondered if they made them as good as the ones at Harleys.

"Hello Deary~ What can I get you?" The spider woman cooed.

"The blueberry pie and (flavour) thickshake thanks." 

"Coming right up!"

You watched the woman as she and her spiders worked. It was fascinating, it was no wonder why this place seemed so busy.

The woman gave you your drink and slice of pie, in return you thanked her and tipped her generously.

"Huehuehue thank you so much deary~"

You flashed her a smile before sliding into a booth just after someone left before someone else could. You sat your things down and bend over to try your thickshake from the straw.

You've decided that Muffets was your new favourite place to eat.

Now eager to try the pie after tasting how good the thick shake was, you brought your fork and knife to the slice and cut off a decent sized piece.

Your mouth was flooded with the taste of sugar and blueberries. The taste was addictive and you were about to shovel another forkful in your mouth when somebody slid across from you in your booth.

"Nyeh. Little early for sweets don't you think?"

The familiar voice caused you to glance up, finding a just as familiar face. You sat your fork back down and faced the orange hooded skeleton and shrugged, "Some people prefer coffee in the morning, I have more of a sweet tooth."

The skeleton grinned lazily, "suppose so," before lifting a bottle of honey to his teeth.

So he drank honey. 

You raised an eyebrow in question, lips pulling at the sides into a grin.

He shrugged, "Your not the only one with a sweet tooth."

You snickered and brought your fork back to your mouth, savouring the taste.

"So, you new around here?" He asked after the moment of silence.

"How'd you know?"

"Don't recognize you."

You glanced at the other roughly thirty people in the room before looking back at stretch skeptically, "So your saying you know everybody else in this room?"

"I don't know everybody, but i've seen them around."

You nod in reply taking a sip of your thickshake. The explaination was believable. "Alright. Yeah, I just moved in around here yesterday."

"Exploring the area?"

"Something like that."

He nodded at you thoughtfully, taking another swig of honey, "Well, I think you'll like it around here. Lots to do."

"Mhm." You hummed in reply, eating the very last mouthful of pie, "So, you come here often?"

"Nyeh. It's my home away from home," he chuckled.

You grinned, leaning backwards in to your seat, "Maybe i'll run into you again. I have a feeling I will be a regular customer."

"Oh, your leaving so soon?"

You shrugged, "Things to do, places to be."

"Busy person eh?"

"You could say that."

"Well, alright then," the skeleton began to scoot out of the seat, and you did the same, "Guess I'll be seeing you around...?"

"F/n."

He nodded, offering a hand, "F/n then, I'm Stretch."

You took his hand, "It was nice to meet you," you replied politely before dropping your hand and beginning to leave. 

Pushing open the glass doors you gave Stretch one last glance, who also happened to be staring at you, and gave him a lazy wave 'good bye' before leaving the store.

That was your second encounter with one of the skeletons from your rivals group. It was undoubtably coincidence, but strange nonetheless. 

You supposed this turn off events could work out to your advantage. If you mimiced an ordinary civilian, perhaps you could gain more insider information from them without them even realizing it.

But from the way both Edge and Stretch acted, you had a feeling they were rather sharp, and wouldnt throw around information like that too easily.

You might as well try anyway.

You pulled out your phone and checked the time. You were on schedule. You had the morning off but now you had important business to attend to.

You had a meeting with the man you had set up to follow Papyrus Serif. He would report all of his findings so far.

-

You sat patiently in your chair, at the head of the table. Zhong, the man you were meeting with, wpulf be arriving at any moment, if that clock above the door was correct.

Zhong had only been watching Papyrus for a short time now, so it wouldnt be surprising if he found nothing. All you can do is hope that he did. 

A knock sounded from outside your door, you glanced up and straightened in your seat, "Come in."

The door opened slowly at first, before widening yhe whole way and closing it behind him. In front of you stood a tall man with hair and eyes as dark as a void. On the contrary, his posture and expression was light and friendly. 

Though you could tell from the confidence in his step as he strided over to the other end of the table to face you, that he was no person to get on the bad side of.

You waved your hand at his chair, "Take a seat."

He did so, with a smile, placing his hands in front of him on the table. You weren't put off by his behaviour, rather mildly impressed.

It would be easy to let your guard go down around someone like him. And that's when he would strike. 

You could tell from the mishevious glint in his eyes that he was certainly someone to keep at arms length.

"So, I suppose I am hear to report my findings?"

You merely nodded at him, urging him to go on.

"Well, at first he appeared to be a completely regular citizen-apart from the whole running for mayor thing of course, but you get my gist."

"I do."

"Anyway, I suppose I should just get to the point. I didn't find anything."

You paused, staring at Zhong, before nodding solemly, "As was expected on such sort noti-"

"-Except for the location of their base."

You froze. He found out where one of there bases were located? You inspected him, looking for any signs of dishonesty or trickery, finding none, you replied. "And where exactly is it located?"

"South Merrida Parade. They're operating out of an old apartment block."

You remained composed, forcing back a smirk, "Well done. You will be rewarded generously for this, but I will have to request further of your service."

"You want me to keep following Papyrus?"

"Yes."

The man paused and stared past you to the wall behind you thoughtfully. After a few moments of silence he glanced back to you, smile stretched even wider then before. "It's a deal."

You stood from your chair, as did he and approached each other. You held out a hand to shake, in which he took in his own firm grip, "Good. I will transfer the money to your account by the end of the day."

"Alright. Better get to work then, no?"

"Of course."

You personally escorted Zhong out of the building, before heading back inside and pulling out your phone. You needed to text Rodgers.

 

Rodgers

South Merrida Parade, the apartment block. That is one of the bases the White Phantoms operate out of. 

I want a group formed to check out the area. Report back to me the details.

 

You put your phone back in your pocket, heading back up the stairs to the board room. You needed to get your brother, all his capos and Rodgers here to discuss a strategy.

You had a feeling it would end up in an all out assault, but you may as well try to come up with better ideas on how to procede.

You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, you pulled it out and checked the notification.

 

Rodgers

Done.

 

You opened the door to the room and walked in, sliding into a chair before looking back down at your phone to reply.

 

Rodgers

Good. Come here ASAP. Bring Ash and all the Capo's.

 

This time you didn't recieve any reply. You pulled open the laptop that was kept in this room and searched up the site on google maps. 

It would be helpful to be familiar with the layout of the place before anyone did anything.

You took a screenshot and printed out a copy, using a red marker to circle and highlight all possible entry and exit points while you awaited everyones arrival.

There was no knock when the door was swung open, perhaps with a little too much force, by Metalhead. You glanced up for a split second before focusing back on what you were doing.

It didnt bother you. Your brother, on the other hand, shot him with a firm look, causing the capo to immediately apologize.

All five men then proceeded to circle around you, twisting their heads to get a proper look at what you were doing.

"This is the base the Serif Family work out of?" Your brother questioned.

"Yes."

"Ah. So Zhong was useful. I told you he was a professional," Slices, the new capo who replaced Rodgers, commented.

"Yes, thank you for the recommendation," you replied only half paying attention as you continued to circle fire escapes and windows, Rodgers and Ash assisting by pointing them out.

"So, are we just going to raid the place?" Anitony cut in.

"I believe we should see if we can get someone to infiltrate their ranks, get as much information as possible," Rodgers adviced.

"We had spies in their ranks for years now, and not one of them had learnt any vital information. It won't work."

And there the debate started. You, personally thought that the direct confrontation was the best approach. Installing a mole would take too long and possessed too many risks. 

Plus you had been waiting way too long for this opportunity. You were getting impatient, and couldnt let the opportunity pass.

You brother had agreed with you, but still allowed everyone to speak their share. 

If there was anything you had taught Ash, it was that listening and taking on board others opinions and advice was possibly your greatest assest.

Allies over enemies, as you always said.

Even if you couldn't trust them, it was better to have people working with you then against you. And multiple minds were better then one.

So you eventually all agreed. You would raid the place, two days from now first thing in the morning. That should give you enough time to check the place out and figure out an appropriate strategy.

-

??? POV

 

Everything hurt. Every inch of my body.

It was so dark... Too dark... The silence overwhelmed me.

I choaked out a whimper,  hot fat tears rolled down my cheeks as I was spawled face down across the cold concrete.

What had I done?

I had did everything I could! I had tried my best! 

...

Was it all for nothing?

No. I refused to think that. I was loyal to my cause, to my family, to my friends. 

I would prove my innocence and would rise about this! 

I shifted in my position, a spike of pain shooting through my arm. Gritting my teeth I forced myself to roll over onto my back.

I didnt know anything. Not the time of day, not what the room looked like, not where I was, not even how long i'd been here.

All I knew was the darkness. 

More tears fell and I sobbed, raising my hands to wipe at my face. Something sticky was on them, and i was afraid to know what.

I took deep raggedy breaths to try and calm myself as i shook. I was scared. So so scared. I was afraid to look around, in case something was waiting for me in the depths of the shadows.

It was alright. 

Somebody would find me, save me.

He'll change his mind, realize I wasnt a traitor.

I reassured myself of all these things. Resurred myself that everything would be alright.

I had just barely stopped crying, but I still continued to shake violently, I couldn't calm down.

I thought back to her. It made me smile.

She was so nice, she treated me like no one else did. Took me seriously, recognized me as an adult.

A shiver ran down my spine. I was freezing. I ran my hands up and down my arms to try and keep warm. When that didn't work I instead tried blowing into my hands. It only gave me a small amount of relief.

I still felt like crying, but I fought against the awful situation with as much optimism as possible.

I would be fine. I just knew it.


	12. Chapter 12

Everybody was arming themselves and loading up their vehicles. You checked that all of your guns were loaded, and made sure to have extra ammo tucked in the waistband of your jeans. 

You took the keys for the ute you were using from a hook nailed on the wall, before throwing them over to Ash, who caught them easily.

Both you and Ash would be assisting in the raid today, which wasnt a common occourance.

Your brother held open the passanger door for you, you hopped in and thanked him. By this time everybody else in the garage was ready to go and getting into their seats. 

Anitony's vehicle was the first to roar to life, having being assigned to be the first to leave.

There were a total of seven vehicles, and twenty five different people. 

There would be two groups of two and one of three. Each group was travelling on their own routes to head to the block next to the location. All of you going together would cause suspicion.

You, and two other cars turned left and broke off from the rest of the group. You would be using the main road.

Everything started off fine. Both you and Ash sat in a serious silence. It was only four in the morning and the sun wouldn't be out for another hour, so the streets were scarce, meaning you should be able to travel undetected.

You had checked out the area, and everyone was assigned a partner and their own entry points. Everyone was well informed and armed, you were all prepared. But in situations like these you could never know what to expect and thats what always nerved you, despite this, you were determined to have things to go your way.

You all pulled up a block away from the location. You would all walk on foot from here. A group of six, including yourself split up and took the back alley ways towards the apartment block. All of you walking single file, taking the route you had previously memorized.

One of the women in the front, leading everyone held a radio in her hand, informed the other groups that they had arrived at location. Ash had replied merely ordering your group to get in position and wait for the signal.

You and some blonde female you had partnered with climbed up one of the fire escapes, and waited outside the window in silence. You looked down to the back door at the woman with the radio, waiting for a signal. Five minutes later she looked up and saluted. 

Everybody at the same time instantly opened their windows and doors, jumping inside. You pulled your gun from your holster, scanning the room and after finding it clear leaving it too enter a hallway.

Loud noises echoed from downstairs, followed by gunshots. A few doors from the hallway were thrown open and people came racing out, guns loaded. 

Some were with you, most the enemy.

A split second later bullets were flying. You sprinted over to one of the doors that opened up into the hallway and used it for cover. Peering over the side and aiming for several individuals.

You hit a man in the leg, causing him to fall over on a dog monster of sorts, bringing both of them too the ground.

They became easy targets and were quickly finished off. You watched with morbid curiosity as the monster turned to dust, making sure to still shoot and not get shot.

Two of your side had been killed, and four of you remained. The enemy, had seven remaining.

At this rate your little group wasn't going to make it.

You took a deep breath, ignoring the logical side of you and instead going by impulse. You charged from out behind the door, towards two other monsters, tackling both to the ground as your group covered you.

You fought for control, pulling the gun towards towards the firs monsters forehead and pulling the trigger. You rolled out of the way as the second tried to shoot you, effectively coating yourself in monster dust.

Spinning to your feet you rushed at the remaing monster, pushing him to the wall, as both of you fought over your gun. You struggled to aim it toward him.

Quickly thinking, you lifted a leg and kneed him the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He had dropped his hand, and you brought the gun to his forehead and finished him off.

One last gunshot fired from behind you. You turned on your heel to see only three left from your group left standing, one clutching their bleeding shoulder.

Without hesitation the others jumped over the bodies and race downstairs towards the main action. You, on the other hand, began walking the other way, searching each room as you went.

You reached one towards the end and tried the handle. It was locked.

You pointed your gun at the lock and shot, effectively opening the door. Rushing in you make it in time to see another shorter skeleton, hastily grabbing files and holding them tightly at his chest.

He looked up at you in a panic, sweat forming on his forehead.

You brought your gun towards him, and shot towards him. You missed?

His left eye socket flared a light blue. Well, if he could dodge bullets, the only other option was to take him head on.

You took a step back before charging and running straight into him. As soon as your bodies collided you began to feel like you were flying. Looking all around you, the world consisted of nothing but an empty black darkness.

Before you could fully register what happened, you hit the ground violently. You heard a sickening crack. and looked down towards the skeleton beneath you.

You think you can safely assume this was Sans. You believe you had seen him with his brother once.

A little videogame like health bar appeared above his head.

0.2/1 HP

Shit. So he only had one HP too? Was that normal for monsters? Maybe just skeletons?

You would have to be more careful next time.

A baratone voice whimpered from beneath you. So he could teleport. It seems you were accidentally brought along with him when you touched him.

This was going to make things difficult.

You had lost your first gun somewhere in the previous few seconds. You quickly reached for your second and left it too hover over Sans skull.

You eyed your surroundings quickly. You were in a house. Nobody else appeared to be home.

Maybe this was his house?

0.1/1 HP

His health decreaced and your eyes widen.You rolled off of him carefully, making sure to keep ahold of him just in case he tried teleporting again, pulling him to his feet.

Magic leaked from the crack in the back of his skull and you were quick to pull him around to find a kitchen.

If this was his house he'd surely have monster food here. Didn't monster food have magical healing abilities?

Sans staggered and tripped on his feet. You caught him, and in a hurry to find something to prevent him from dying you scooped him up bridal style and searched the house.

You found the kitchen without too much of a problem, sitting Sans down on the counter and throwing the cupboard open, grabbing the first thing you saw, it was an unopened packet of 'Monster Lollies'.

You ripped the bag open and turned to face the skeleton, who's eyes were closed and skull resting limply on the cupboard behind him.

Ripping open the packet and opening one of the lollies you brought it too his mouth with one hand. With the other you gently shook him awake, afraid if you shook too hard he would waste away.

Literally.

Sans struggled to open his eyes, only getting them open halfway. That was enough for you.

"Eat," you insisted. He eyed the lolly warily, appearing to be in a daze.

"Eat." You said firmer, and he complied, merely opening his teeth so you could throw it in.

For a moment it looked like his bones were glowing, but it quickly went away. The health bar reappeared, and he was back to full health. Although, he still appeared exhausted. 

His eyelids fell closed as he breathed deeply, having dozed off on the counter.

You almost couldn't believe it. But you supposed it was understandable, he did just almost died, after all.

In the silence you inspected Sans carefully. Up close, he had a lot of similarities to Blue, and you idlly wondered if they were cousins, or family in general.

He began to snore, and you chuckled to yourself. Who would have thought he'd be able to sleep so peacefully after that incident?

You picked up the monster lolly packet, you had a feeling you may need it later. You watched Sans for a moment longer, before walking over to him and picking him back up, carefully putting him over your shoulder, so as to not wake him up.

Walking out of the kitchen you notice the files that had been scattered across the floor in the lounge room from the fall. You crouched, extra careful to keep Sans steady and pick up everything with the other hand.

Now, if you really were at Sans house (which was confirmed after you noticed the pictures of him and his brother hung up on the wall), it would mean you are about a twenty minute walk from your house.

As far as you were aware all monsters lived in White Phantoms territory. Your home bordered that territory.

Fortunately, it was still early morning, meaning you could probably successfully make it too your house without anyone noticing.

But even if you did, would bringing him to your home be the smartest idea?

Nobody else appeared to be in the house, which was strange. Because if Papyrus also lived here, where would he be at five in the morning?

Unless he was also back at the place you raided. But would Sans just leave his little brother like that?

Either way, you didn't want to be here when and if somebody showed up. You prepared yourself for a difficult trip home. Carrying all of that stuff was going to kill your arms.

You left the house, closing the door behind you and stepped onto the footpath. Nobody else appeared to be around or awake, the block was silent.

By the time you were there you arms killed and you were ready to drop everyone and everything. Including yourself. 

You walked to the front door, before finally recalling that you had left your keys back at the gangs garage.

Shit. 

You head for the backdoor and prayed you had left it open. You did not walk all that way for nothing.

Struggling to reach for the doorknob with the hand that wasn't holding Sans (but was still just as occupied), you sighed in relief as the door pushed open.

You carried Sans upstairs and laid him on your mattress, quickly running downstairs to lock the backdoor and dropping the files and monster lollies on the kichen bench.

You had quickly gone to the garage and found some rope, before heading back upstairs to your room.

You home still didnt have all the furniture it needed, but you had gotten the basics, a lounge, dining table, a few chairs. That was about it.

You flipped on the room light and hoped Sans was a deep sleeper. You waited a second, and when he didn't stir you got too work.

You sat on your knees beside him on the mattress. You slipped a hand under his back and one on his side so you could flip him over. You grabbed both hands and pulled them behind him, tying his hands together first before tying them to his back, then his feet. 

You had a feeling he wasn't going to be as compliant as Blueberry when he woke up, so you decided to move him to the basement. 

But seeing as you had still yet to determine what do with him, you brought your mattress down with you, along with several sheets, blankets and pillows for him to sleep with.

You made sure he was properly covered and head back upstairs to the kitchen. You grabbed a handful of monster lollies and brought It downstairs, putting it beside his bed along with a bottle of water.

You would have also brought down painkillers if you had any. Medicine freaked you out.

The basement was empty and had no windows. You left on the dim light so he could see when he woke up, before walking upstairs and locking the basement door.

You would have to get some sort of seditive, if he really could teleport, you would need to keep him in a barely conscious state to prevent him from doing so.

Pulling your phone from your back pocket you text Ash, fully explaining the situation, before heading back upstairs to change clothes.

You were covered in dust and blood.

-

You leant against the concrete wall beside Rodgers as he sat in a seat he had brought downstairs. You both watched Sans snore and waited for him to wake up.

You had insisted to just let him sleep. After all, you could still play this the way you did with Blueberry. The friendlier way.

Rodgers had brought a sedative and a needle along with him. You would give Sans just enough that he shouldn't be able to teleport, but could still talk.

The sleeping skeleton stirred, before waking up with a start. His left eye socket flashed Blue and Rodgers took that as his que, racing over to Sans and injecting him in the side of the neck vertebrae.

Sans body instantly relaxed, the blue fading out, but you could tell he was still awake.

You approached the skeleton and crouched next to him, helping him sit up by leaning him against the wall.

He squinted at you, struggling to figure out what was happening.

"Sans," He tensed as you spoke his name, "Do you know where you are?"

Sans stared at both of you for a few moments, before shaking his head 'No'. "Who are you guys?"

His words were ever so slightly slurred, his eyelids constantly closing and opening, as he struggled to focus.

"That isn't important right now. What is important, is that your under our care right now, understood?"

"Care?" He asked, before his eyesockets went wide, "Your with the our rivals."

Damn, he must have remembered.

"Listen, 'Sans', you will be staying with us. And as long as you can comply with all of our demands we can ensure your safety," Rodgers spoke.

Sans turned his head slowly to face Rodgers, "he hehe.... No can do bud."

"Why not?" Rodgers moved his arms to cross over his chest.

"Cause' the boss said so... And I can't go against the bosses orders."

Sans was slow to speak, he sounded drunk. 

Rodgers pinched the bridge of his nose, turning to face you, "Why do they always say that?"

You shrugged.

"What does this 'Gaster' even do if they give up information anyway? It'd have to be something real gruesome for everyone to be this afraid of him."

You hummed in reply, glancing at Sans who was eyeing both of you warily. So you probably weren't going to get anything out a Sans at this rate. You couldnt have him off of the sedative or he would teleport away, but torture wouldnt work while he was on the sedative. 

Then there is also the factor that he only has 1HP.

"That's okay. We don't need to get information out of him."

Rodgers stared at you questioningly, "What, are you going to finish him off?"

"Nah. We'll use him to make Papyrus do whatever we want. The Mayor will be elected tommorow. We all already know he will get the position."

"Do you think he'll agree to that?"

You shrugged again, "May as well try."

"Thats actually a really frigging good idea. I'll go upstairs and speak to the boss."

Rodgers went back upstairs. You only turned to face Sans again once you heard the door click shut.

Sans was staring at you. He appeared to be nonchalant about the whole thing. Which was good. It meant the sedative was working.

You stood in silence facing each other for a few seconds, before you sat down in front of him cross legged. You know, leveling with him.

"How're you feeling?"

He stared at you in reply. As if during his confused daze he was searching for something. 

"Well?"

"Heh..the best you can get in a situation like this...just a little...tied up, ya know?" He snorted at his own pun, grinning tiredly.

You let out a short snicker. That fact that he was borderline unconscious made everything he said heaps funnier.

You picked up a monster lolly from the pile you had put next to the mattress, showing it to Sans, "Want one?"

He shrugged.

You opened the lolly and brought it towards his mouth, in which he hesitantly opened. His bones took on a very dim blue hue, and the health bar reappeared.

2/1 HP

Huh. So Monsters could go over their own HP? That was useful information. You wondered if that worked for humans too.

"So...your planning to use me to get my bro to do...whatever you want?"

You shrugged, and his eyes narrowed.

"That's a little low... Don't cha think?"

"Just business, really."

Sans let out a dark breathy chuckle, "Lay a damn finger on him... And you'll be havin' a b a d   t i m e."

You paused, meeting Sans gaze. Despite the drowsiness in his gaze, you could see the underlying threat from a mile away. 

Welp. He had just earned your respect in that regard.

God you were soft sometimes, but you highly valued loyalty, especially in family.

"Noted." You replied after a while. The door reopened and both Ash and Rodgers walked downstairs. 

You looked up at them, as did Sans.

"Rodgers explained the plan to me," your brother informed you.

"Good."

"What are you doing down here?"

You looked back at Sans, "Just having a chat."

"I see... Well then, me and Rodgers better set the plan in motion. Call if you need anything."

"Sure thing Boss. Later Rodgers."

Rodgers nodded at you, "Later stitches," before following your Brother back upstairs.

" 'Chat' huh?"

"Figured you'd get lonely down here all by yourself," you teased, "decided i'd give you a bit of company."

-

You had taken a photo of Sans tied up to send to Papyrus when he asked for proof that his brother was still alive.

He was very calm about that whole thing, a lot quieter then he otherwise appeared.

It took some explaining and some subtle threats, but Papyrus agreed to do whatever Ash wanted.

Including not telling anyone about this. He was told that if we found out he informed anyone about the situation we would immediately dust his brother.

That was the only part of the phone call that he sounded even relatively fearful. You supposed his cool demeanour had a part to do with being a politician and that whole thing.

You had a feeling he was a lot more worried then he let on.

Your first demand was a list. The names of every known worker, member and ally of the White Phantoms.

He at first tried to explain he couldn't do that, because he would be found out.

Your Brother merely insisted that he had to be extra cautious then.

While your Brother and Rodgers spoke to Papyrus, you had spend another hour or so talking to Sans.

It was more of a tense idle chat then anything informative.

That reminded you, it was getting late in the day. You supposed you would have to get him something to eat and reinject him with more of the sedative.

You looked through your cupboards, and decided to knock something easy up. You grabbed out the pasta and the mince, along with a variety of other ingredients.

You were making spaghetti bowl.

It didn't take long to throw together, but you left it to sit for another ten minutes with the lid on top before serving it on two plates. 

You made sure there was plenty on Sans' plate, as he had missed out on lunch. Breakfast too, probably.

You left yours on the bench upstairs, and brought Sans' plate downstairs. The skeleton looked up at you and watched as you walked towards him.

You placed the plate in front of him, before pulling out the needle and sedative. You filled it up and brought it towards Sans. He flinched.

"If you want to eat, I need to do this."

Sans was quiet, and you took that as permission to continue. You invested him with it and his shoulders slumped.  "I'm going to turn you around"

Sans took a second to process your words, before nodding. You turned him around and undid the rope around his hands. You could undo all of it if he behaved.

You helped Sans turn back around, before placing the plate and cutlery in his lap. It was then you felt something sharp beginning to stick in your back.

Looking up Sans had raised a hand, amd had summoned three or four sharpened bones pointed at you. 

So he couldn't teleport, but he wasn't completely uncapable of magic. 

You sat down, the bones following. Sans left eye flared blue, and you grinned casually at me.

"Gonna kill me, are you?"

"Heh. Trying to convince me I shouldn't?'

You shrugged, "Well. If you also want to die, then go ahead."

Sans paused, eyelids lowering into slits as he eyed you suspiciously "Whaddya mean?"

"You know, my Boss and his underboss are not upstairs. You might be able to get rid of me, because I was unaware and caught by surprise. But in this state of yours, well, I doubt you would manage against them."

"Your bluffing," He was right, you were, "they need me alive."

"Not enough that they wouldn't kill you if you killed the Boss's right hand."

He paused, before hesitantly dropping his hand. Well, you were definitely keeping him tied up.

The bones disappeared and you relaxed before gesturing towards the pasta dish, "Eat. I need to tie your hands back up after your done."

You watched Sans eat in silence, thinking back to the incident that just happened. If you hadnt been so quick to think on your feet, you could have been in serious trouble.

You were also mildly impressed by how well Sans was handling himself in his drunken-like state.

He sounded relatively normal, but if you payed attention, you could see how he struggled to think and process things. His slow and sloppy movements were also a dead giveaway.

You took his plate from him after he was done, before tying him back up. You helped move him, laying him down and ensuring the blankets were properly over him.

"Need anything?" You asked.

"Well I cou-"

"Within reason."

"Heh," you couldnt see his face as he was turned around to face the wall, "I'm good."

You nodded to yourself, picking up the plate and walking to the foot of the stairs, "Want the light on?"

"Nah."

You flipped the switch and the room was flooded with darkness. You made sure to lock the basement door before heading to the kitchen and rinsing the plate, putting it in the dishwasher. 

No longer hungry, you put your plate in the fridge, deciding to have it on some toast for breakfast tomorrow before heading to bed.

It's been a long day.


	13. Chapter 13

You made tacos for breakfast Instead of the spaghetti. For whatever reason. Perhaps having Sans around was bringing up old memories. You just made regular bacon and eggs for him though.

He didnt look like the breakfast taco person.

Papyrus should be emailing you guys the list sometime today, and you were eager to look at the names on the list. You had a lot of plotting to do.

So far it appeared your group was winning against the White Phantoms by a landslide. But after the raid, you knew it was only a matter of time before they retaliate. You had to be prepared for that.

You had to get up really early in the morning to give Sans another dose. He would need one every six hours to keep him in that state.

His next one was right about now. 

You went downstairs and repeated the same process you did with him last night for dinner.  He was much more compliant, but you knew that he was schemeing something.

Or at least trying to. You imagined it would be difficult in his drugged up state.

You would have to contact Zhong later on and inform him of the recent change of events. You would still be using him to make sure Papyrus doesn't try anything. 

You didn't stick around in the basement for long, you were going to go furniture shopping. Rodgers was going to send over one of his most trusted men to watch over Sans. You weren't particularly happy with leaving Sans with someone you didnt know, but you couldn't stick around all day and babysit him.

The man that arrived would have had to be in his late twenties, ginger hair and chocolate brown eyes. Tattoos crept up his arm and cutting off just below his jawline, gun sticking out from beneath his coat.

"Ma'am," he greeted you politely.

"Just call me Stitches, and you are?"

"Zac Williams."

You nodded, acknowledging his name, before pulling out the bottle of sedative and the needle, "He is in the basement. Don't untie his hands. He will need more of this every six hours. Fill the needle up to where the red marker is."

He took the sedative and needle, inspecting it for a short second before pocketing it. 

"Anything else Ma'a- Stitches?"

"No. Help yourself to the fridge. Don't make a mess."

The casualty in that sentence almost sounded like you really had just gotten a babysitter to watch over your nonexistent kids. 

You double checked you had everything on you before heading to your garage, and starting up your car. You were looking  for cupboards for your room and the guest rooms, along with beds, desks, bedside tables and perhaps some outside furniture.

You could just have their express delivery to move everything for you. 

Pulling up outside the store, as you had gotten a gooding parking spot, you inspected the building. The store itself was huge, and you supposed it meant that there would be a lot of furniture to choose from.

You weren't very picky though, you just wanted something that matched the walls.

You also had to get a new bed for yourself sooner or later, seeing as Sans was occuping your old one. This time, you were getting it custom made. All the beds they sold in store were all too small. You liked having plenty of room.

You entered the building, getting hit with a freezing cold gush of air, it was like a freezer inside. You knew you should have brought your hoodie.

Rubbing your arms you ventured forward. Surrounding you were a variety of beds. Single, double, king, and everything between.

You imagined that it would be ten times more fun if Blueberry was here, the both of you 'trying out' all of the beds.

You were certain, that in another life, in different circumstances, the both of you would have been really good friends.

It was a shame, really.

Oh well, you would just have to kidnap him again sometime. Maybe when you figured out where his main base of operations was located.

You were still aware the both of you were technically enemies, and you would do what you needed to. But at the moment there was no reason to put him in harms way.

You chose out a few different beds and payed for them, plus origanizing getting them delivered over to your house, before heading upstairs to the other section of the building.

You found a few suitable draws and cupboards, along with a variety of other things. You had gotten one of those swinging outdoor sofa beds too. 

Tapping your card for the thousandth time to pay for everything else you got, you realized just how much more you had gotten then you originally thought.

Guess you got a little carried away.

You started back to your house, before changing your mind and heading to Muffets instead. You could go for something to eat.

Entering the building, you noticed it was significantly emptier then previously. You did suppose it was 2 on a Monday afternoon.

But there was still one person you recognized there. Sitting at a booth sipping honey by himself was Stretch. You approached the counter, he hadnt noticed you yet.

Ordereing a caramel slice and a smoothie, paying who you supposed was Muffet, you tipped her again. She seemed very pleased as she smugly excepted the extra money.

Stretch seemed in a world of his own, and you contemplated interruping that. Deciding that you were curious too find out how Blue was doing, you slid in the booth across from him, much like he originally did last time you saw each other.

He seemed to snap out of his thoughts, seemingly surprised, before relaxing.

"Oh, came to visit me so soon?" He teased.

"Nah, just on my way home, thought i'd stop by and get something to eat."

"Not at work?"

"Have the day off."

He nodded, he appeared to be more relaxed, sinking slightly in the seat cushion. You brought the slice to your mouth and took a bite.

Monster food was amazing.

"So, how have you been?" You questioned, not really having anything else to say.

Stretch shrugged, "I've been alright, you?"

"Good. Me and my brother just moved into our own homes, so everything's been a bit chaotic. Just went furniture shopping."

"You have a brother?"

You nodded.

"Younger or older?"

"Younger."

Stretch grinned at you, "Nyeh. I have a little brother too."

"Oh? Whats the age difference?"

"Four years."

"Huh, same." 

You already knew all of this, but if you wanted to see how Blueberry was doing you first had to steer it into that direction.

"What's your bro like?" He questioned, sounding genuinely interested.

You paused, thinking for a second.

What was your brother like?

He was funny, and reliable, and dependable. He was charismic and knew how to capture the attention of an audience. He was smart, and cunning, confident in every situation.

He was cold and fierce when he needed to be, but otherwise was sweet, polite and thoughtful. He was capable of many things, but he was merciful.

How on earth could you describe all of these things to Stretch in just a few words?

Your grin matched Stretch's, "He's the best."

Stretch stared at you, and for a second you thought you had said something wrong, until Stretch's expression softened, all distrust that you previously failed to notice disappearing.

"Yeah. Blue-my bro, means the world to me too."

"Hehe...Yeah."

Stretch's small smile then curled into a frown, you were a little surprised at the sudden change in mood. "You alright?"

"Yeah. 'm fine."

"You sure? You looked like you suddenly had a bad taste in your mouth." 

He paused, appearing to be contemplating something, "Yeah, it's just, He'll do this... errand, every few months. He has to go out of the city for two or so weeks each time, but haven't heard from him at all. It's not like him."

You paused, eyebrows furrowing, "is he somewhere with bad reception?"

"Nah. He's in another city."

"...When is he getting back?"

"Should be any day now."

You nodded and considered the information. All you could think of was that he perhaps got in trouble for the information he gave you. What if he was...dead?

You swallowed your rising concern and made sure to not let it show on your face. "Well, If he doesnt come back and you dont hear from him in a few days, you might have to looking for him."

"Nyeh. I have already been calling around. Nobody's heard from him. I'm already just trying to stay calm and wait a few extra days before panicking."

You gritted your teeth. You understood the fear of something happening to your sibling. Understood the fear of not knowing where your brother was and if he was safe. 

After all, something similar had once happened to you when you were little. You were almost tempted to disecretly help him out and look for Blueberry too.

"Damn. I hope he shows up okay sometime soon. I don't know what I would do if that was my brother."

That was a lie, you knew exactly what you would do. Get rid of everybody in your way until you found him.

"...I just hope he's okay."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up safe."

And that, was how you decided that you really were going to go looking for Blueberry.

-

You had returned home when you found out. Both Rodgers and Ash were waiting for you inside, and explained the situation to you.

Zhong had been found and captured by the White Phantoms. A trade was offered. Zhong for Sans. You weren't going to accept of course, Zhong held no real value to the gang, but it was an inconveniencing turn of events at the least. You discussed further on the topic, before your brother left the kitchen to call and refuse the deal.

In the meantime, you were to go and meet Papyrus. Apparently, his email and laptop was monitored, and that if you wanted to get the list, someone would have to get it in person.

You would normally just send for a worker to pick it up, but you were curious to meet the infamous new mayor himself.

You left Rodgers and your brother too look after Sans, as Zac had left upon their arrival. 

You considered going to check on Sans, and ensure Zac hadn't gotten carried away and done anything stupid to him. You were about to exit the building when you stumbled to a halt.

A sigh escaped your lips, and you spun on your heel before walking towards the basement, putting on your mask as you did so.

You stood in front of the skeleton, who didn't say anything except stare at you with a tired grin. The light was dim, but you couldnt see any injuries. He shifted uncomfortably under your gaze. That's when you saw it, on the left side of his skull, towards the back was a small crack, coated in something silver and sticky. Which you could only assume was the monster equivalent of blood.

Gritting your teeth you took a quick step forward, crouching down to his level and taking his skull in your hands.

His eyelights shrunk in panic; like a deer caught in headlights.

You tilted his skull to the side gently, before Sans pulled his head back and out of your hands.

"Did the man I left to watch you do that?" You asked firmly, eyes boring into his intensely.

You knew you shouldnt have left him with a stranger.

"What? Whaddya mean?"

"Your head. What happened."

It took him a second for him to realize what you were talking about, before his eye sockets opened a little wider, "Oh. Heh. About that.... I um.. Just hit my head on the wall," he grinned at you sheepishly.

Your gaze didn't waver for a few moments, until he dropped his gaze, looking at the blankets next to him.

Picking up another monster lolly, you throw it to the back of his mouth for him, his HP fully restoring.

"You haven't eaten anything yet, have you?"

He shook his head 'no'.

"I'll have to get you something after I get back. Anything you want in particular?"

Sans stared at you suspiciously, "why are you...treated me like...this?"

You blinked. Did he mean why were you treating him well...not exactly 'nicely' but,  not torturing him and commiting unspeakable crimed upon him?

"If it hadn't been for your teleporting ability, I believe you would be in a much different circumstance. I prefer to be civil with my 'guests', or at least attempt too be. Much like how I treated Blueberry during his stay. I believe you know him?"

"Blueberry is with you? Everybody though he was dead."

You paused, "Blueberry is not with me. He was before, but then we arrange for a deal, and he was given back to your Don, Gaster. I have not seen nor heard from him since."

Sans forrowed his bonebrows, "When?"

"Nearly two weeks ago."

A silence fell over the room as Sans appeared to think about something. 

So everybody thought Blue was dead-except Stretch, his brother of course. Meaning that many people have been seriously cut out of the loop.

This really wasn't good. 

You were certain now. Gaster had done something to him. You couldnt do anything about it right now, but as soon as you could, you would.

"Blue told you something, didnt he?" Sans stared at you knowingly, a frown tugging on his seemingly permanate smile.

You merely nodded.

"Then he is dead. Gaster doesnt know mercy. As soon as he found out he would have killed him on the spot."

A lump formed in your throat.

No. If he was really dead Stretch would know. There would be no point trying to hide it from him, he would find out sooner or later anyway.

"I see..."

Sans clenched his teeth, sweat forming on his skull, "God damn. Blue didn't diserve that. Stretch is going to freak when he finds out."

"His brother?"

"Blue told you about him?"

"Yes."

Sans stared at you, anger evident in his eyes, before his shoulders slumped and he sighed. All of this talking must have really worn him out.

"Alright, well, i'll be back. Is there anything you want, though?"

Sans shrugged, "Ketchup."

You werent sure if he was joking, but nodded and turned to leave anyway. Stretch drank honey didn't he? Perhaps it was a monster thing.

-

You arrived at the location you were to meet Papyrus at. Behind one of the Casinos you owned.

The music and conversation leaked outside, lights flashing and allowing you to see where you were going. In the distance, a tall lanky figure stood by the back door, glancing left and right every few seconds, as if searching for someone.

That someone just happened to be you. The closer you approached the skeleton the more you were convinced he was just Stretch dressed up nicely. But you knew he wasnt, you had seen Papyrus before, just not up close. This was him.

"Papyrus," you greeted.

He spun on his heel in your direction, towering over you. "Human!" He greeted back, voice lower then you would have otherwise expected it too be.

You had heard him speak on several occasions, but you always thought he looked like someone who spoke loudly. Like a half-yell, kind of like Blueberry did.

"The list?" You held out your hand for him to put it in.

"AH Yes!" He patted his pockets before remembering where he kept it, pulling out multiple papers from inside his coat and giving it too you. "But Human, Before We Are Done, I Would Like To Request Something."

You tucked the papers under your arm before nodding at him, "Go ahead."

"I Would Like To See My Brother."

You paused, considering the request. No, you couldn't. Sans wasnt compliant like Blue was. It was too risky.

"Unfortunately, under the circumstances, it would be too much of an inconvenience to do so, but I could arrange for a phone call." You explained. 

"REALLY? WOWIE! I Really Didn't Expect You To Be So Cooperative!"

You shrugged, "We do what we have too. But we never wanted this war. None of this would have ever of had to happen if your group was a cooperative as us."

"What Do You Mean Human? Your Don Was The One Who Declared War!"

Heh. So Gaster has been lying to everyone. 

It was obvious honesty wasn't a quality their group possessed. It was a wonder how anyone in the White Phantoms could even trust each other. Your thankful your brother wasnt that way, and you could only hope he would continue to do so.

"It appears you have been misinformed," you paused, gauging his reaction, "We attempted to make a truce between our two groups. We offered an Alliance, it was your Don, Gaster, that refused. I know, because I was there."

Papyrus didn't say anything, except stare down at you blankly, "I See. I Will Have To Look In Too This."

You nodded, "Alright. I will be going now. Have a good night."

"Yes...Good Night Human..."

You turned around and began walking away, making sure to keep your head on an angle to keep an eye on Papyrus. Wouldn't want him trying anything while your back was turned.  

This situation was much more serious then you previously thought, but you were getting more of an idea of who Gaster was. He was malicious, manipulative and ill-intended. He was a major threat not only to your gang, but your brother too.

You couldn't stand for allowing the existence of something that put him in unnecessary danger. Gaster would need to die.


	14. Chapter 14

Where could he be?

If everybody thought Blueberry was dead or didn't know where he was... He couldn't be in White Phantom territory.

Was he even in the city?

You sighed, for all you knew Blue could be stuck in someone’s basement somewhere.

Much like how Sans was.

You racked your brain for more ideas, but only one had the potential too get you anywhere. 

Henry Erquat, Head of Ebott's police force. Those files that were filled with information for potential blackmail were finally being put to use. Henry was in one of those files. 

You left the house once again. It was early morning and you had just tended to Sans, leaving him with Rodgers, before heading towards the city head police station. Listening mindlessly to the early morning radio, you stare intensely at the road in front of you. You hadn't heard from your brother this morning, he hadn't called since he headed out the night previous (which was unusual).

You knew he was fine, but with everything going on, you couldn't help the anxiety that formed in the pit of your stomach.

Pulling up a block away from the station, you ensure to park away from cameras. You would give Ash a call later, you decide. The street was surprisingly busy, you suppose there were a lot of people with early morning shifts. Pulling your hood up over your head, hovering just over your eyes and swinging your bag over your shoulders, you did your best to refrain making any contact with passing strangers. Instead, you kept your eyes glued to your feet, and those of people around you. 

You created the scene in your head, of how you wanted this to go down. You needed to be in and out-no longer then ten minutes. Going in to meet the head directly was appallingly stupid, but you needed to get to the point. There wasn't any time for mucking around.

Stumbling backwards a few steps before regaining your composure you look upwards. There, with his familiar irritated scowl, Edge, glowered down at you. Eyes locking Edge's features twitch with familiarity.

"YOU AGAIN."

Welp, this wasnt how you imagined running into him again.

Grinning widely, you greeted him, "I've now gathered that greeting a pal' isn't one of your strongest suits. Good to see you."

"I MIGHT OF SAID THE SAME-ONLY WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY 'PALS'."

"Geez, I didn't realize you missed me so much that your now in denial, pal'," you watched Edge's face contort into that of anguish with glee, cheeks hurting from grinning so widely.

Scoffing, and folding his arms over his chest he looked skeptically at you "I'M THE ONE IN DENIAL?"

"See, you agree. That's a great first step to getting better, I'm proud of you."

"TCH. PLEASE. REMIND ME WHY I AM WASTING MY TIME TALKING TO HUMAN FILTH?"

"Perhaps you decided to get your hands dirty?"

Edge visably grimanced, looking down at you in pity, "HUMAN, I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW ONE COULD EASLY BE ENEMOURED WITH ME, BUT I MUST ASK OF YOU-TO N E V E R, PUT THAT IMAGE IN MY HEAD AGAIN."

"Heh, you liked it."

Edge narrowed his eyesockets at you, before pinching the bridge of his (nasal cavity?) nose. "WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, HUMAN?"

"Just some business," you shrugged.

"I SEE. WELL, AT LEAST YOU AREN'T LAZY."

"Was that a compliment?"

Edge scoffed yet again before spinning on his heel to walk away, "GOODBYE HUMAN."

You shrugged to yourself before walking a few steps behind him. You caught him throwing you a few glances as you walked down the street, before almost running into his back as he stopped abruptly to stop and face you.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME."

"I'm not."

Edge searched your expression, hands on his hips. "HUMAN, I THINK YOUR OBSSESSION WITH ME HAS GONE TOO FAR."

"Heh, I was already going this way. That's why I ran into you in the first place."

Edge paused, before also seemingly realizing this. His frown deepened, and he refused to look at you as he tried to hide his embarrassment. He then stepped out of your way, "FINE THEN, YOU GO AHEAD."

Quriking an eyebrow you don't question his behavior, walking ahead, Edge a metre or so behind you. The both of you walked in silence, both walking in the same direction. 

Was he also going to the police station? Shit. The Calibri brothers worked for all the weapons suppliers that supplied the police, didnt they? 

You spared a quick glance back at the ridiculously tall skeleton striding behind you. The likelihood of both of you going to the police station were high. 

Then where was he originally heading?

"Where were you going?" You tilted your head to half face Edge, "before bumping into me, I mean."

Edge only continued to scowl at you before answering, "I WAS GOING TO GET BREAKFAST FROM THE BAKERY, BUT IT SEEMS I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF YOU."

You tensed unnoticeably at the skeletons accusatory tone. You had issues with always being the one taking the blame. "Sorry?" You replied unsurely.

"TCH. NO POINT GOING BACK NOW. WHERE ARE YOU GOING ANYWAY?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"ONLY BECAUSE IT APPEARS WE ARE HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. TELL ME, ARE YOU GOING TO THE POLICE STATION?"

You shrugged, "Are you?"

"WILL YOU ANSWER MY GODDAMN QUESTIONS IF I ANSWER YOURS?"

"Maybe."

A heavy exhale was released from behind you, and a smug grin tugged at your lips. 

"YES. I WORK FOR EBOTTS ARMS INC."

You nodded to yourself. Old news. 

Just ten metres away from you was your destination, you wondered if you could stall until then. "Who're they?"

"WE SUPPLY THE CITY POLICE AND LAW ENFORCMENT WITH THEIR WEAPONRY."

"Huh. Cool."

"YES, NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION."

You stopped outside the stations glass doors, turning to face Edge, who stared at you expectingly. "Well, we're here. I really got to go. 'Spose i'll have to tell you another time?"

You grinned smugly at Edge, walking through the doors and to the front desk before he could make any further comment. A smart looking brunnette woman stared up at you from behind the desk, grinning politely at you.

"Hello, welcome to Ebott County Police station, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I have an appointment with Henry Erquat."

"Victoria Jones, 8am?"

You merely nodded.

"Go down that hallway, take the elevator to the top floor, and wait in the waiting area. He should be ready to see you soon."

"Thanks, have a good day."

You began walking down the hallway when someone decided to walk by your side. Glancing up you mentally sighed upon meeting Edge's furious gaze 

"THOUGHT YOU COULD JUST WALK AWAY FROM ME, HUMAN?"

You shrugged, "I really am busy."

"DOING?"

"Why does it matter? You might give me the impression that you care." 

You stopped and pressed the arrow pointing up, waiting for the elevator to arrive.

"HARDLY. YOU ARE ACTING VERY SUSPICIOUSLY, THAT IS ALL."

"I'm meeting with someone here."

"WHY?"

"Work," you replied simply before stepping in the elevator, Edge following.

"YOUR BEING VERY VAGUE AND I'M RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE. HURRY UP AND SPIT IT OUT BEFORE I FORCE IT OUT OF YOU."

You chuckled in amusement. Really?

"REMIND ME WHAT THE JOKE WAS?" He asked sourly.

"Your threatening me? In a police station?" You eyed him curiously, only to find him pondering something.

"WELL, I COULD ALWAYS WAIT OUTSIDE TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU THEN."

You only grinned, watching as the doors opened and stepped out. You were in another room, cushioned chairs lining the yale blue walls outside a wooden door, presumeably leading to Henry Erquats office.

Greeting the Receptionist she instructed you to take a seat, and to your dismay, Edge found himself sitting comfortably across from you.

How the hell were you supposed to get anything done with him following you around?

"Your not coming in with me."

"WHY NOT?"

A sigh escaped your lips, and your crossed you arms, "Listen, if you really want to waste your time following me around, you can wait out here. I'll be ten minutes."

"AND WHEN YOU GET OUT, I IMAGINE YOU WILL BE TELLING ME ALL ABOUT IT?"

"If you really want to know, I guess you'll have to beat the shit out of me."

Edge's scowl curled at the ends into a small smirk, "OH? NOW I'M EXCITED."

"Victoria Jones, Henry is ready to see you now," the receptionist interupted your conversation-thankfully.

You stood up and nodded at her in thanks before entering the office, ensuring to close the door properly behind you.

The room was large, creme coloured walls, with the back being one large window. A meeting desk stood in front of you, but looking to your right was a subsection of the room, and behind a smaller office desk was the man you were looking for.

You pulled out your bandana from your bag, wrapping it around the lower half of your face and tucking your hoodie to further cover your face. You approached the middle aged man, who had now only just noticed you.

He frowned at you, eyeing your shady appearance, "Who the fuck are you?"

You dropped your bag from your shoulder onto his desk, and gestured for him to look inside.

He looked from you to the bag wearily, before cautiously reaching for it. It took a second for him to unzip it, before he pulled out the copy of the file you had made.

Laying the file in front of him he flicked through it, visably growing more panicked as he read through.

"What the fuck is this? More blackmail?"

You shook your head, resting one hand comfortably on your gun in case he tried anything, "Nah. Whoever was blackmailing you before just lost any dirt they had on you. Now you have to do as I say."

The brunette man pursed his lips, shaking in anger. "What's with this shit! Why the fuck can't people just leave me alone? I swear to god you won't get away with this.

I will ruin you."

You didn't acknowledge his outburst, "I haven't even told you what I want yet."

"Well fucking get on with it you bitch."

"Heh. Watch your tongue before I get someone to cut it off."

Henry's jaw clacked closed, but he continued to glare daggers at you. 

After a few seconds and seeing he wasn't going to cut you off, you start. "Tuesday the 2nd of April, 61 jane st Yandara, 9pm."

"What?"

"Two skeletons entered the club there, should have came out with three. I want the numberplate of the vehicle they used, who it's registered to, and where it went."

"Thats it?"

"For now."

Henry was silent. You reached across the table for a pen, before jotting down an email. "You have two days."

You grabbed your bag by the handle, putting it back on and spinning on your heel to walk away. "Oh, and you can keep that copy of the file. Leave you to reflect on your sins."

You stopped at the door, taking your bandana off, pocketing it and leaving the office.

-

To your surprise, Edge was still outside waiting for you. So now you were stuck with him in the Cafe he was originally heading to, eating breakfast together.

You originally went to order your usual sweets, only to have that idea completely shut down by Edge, and instead having him order for you.

Now you sat across from the red clad skeleton who was scolding you harshly for your poor diet.

"BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY. YOU'LL RUIN YOUR BODY IF YOU EAT SUCH UNHEALTHY THINGS SO EARLY IN THE MORNING."

You would never understand how what time it was affected what you ate in the slightest.

"NOT THAT 'RUINING' WOULDNT BE AN IMPROVMENT."

Deciding to change the topic while he was between breaths, you sat forward and rested you chin on your hand, "You certainly sound like you know what your talking about."

"OF COURSE. SOMEONE SUCH AS I MUST KNOW SUCH SIMPLE THINGS."

"Oh yeah, what other things do you know a lot About?"

"MANY THINGS! I AM A EXTRODANAIRE IN TRAPS AND PUZZLES, A FEIRCESOME WARRIOR, A MASTER IN THE KITCHEN, TRULY A JACK OF ALL TRADES."

You nodded, acknowledging the new found information in interest, "You like cooking?"

"YES, A TRULY COMMENDABLE ATTRIBUTE."

"What do you like cooking?"

You thought back to Blueberry, and how he liked Taco's.

"LASAGNA, OF COURSE."

"I'll have to try it some time."

"NYEH. YOU ARE HARDLY WORTH THE TIME OR EFFORT. NOR DESERVING."

Huh. He laughed like Stretch did. You were beginning to see a lot of similarities in these skeletons.

”And how can I become ‘deserving’?” You swapped hands to rest your chin on.

”PLEASE, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE BENEATH ME. NOT LIKE HUMAN SCUM LIKE YOU COULD EVER MEET ANY OF MY STANDARDS.”

”And what are your ‘standards’?”

Edge eyed you momentarily before continuing to rant, “FOR ONE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE AS GREAT AND TERRIBLE AS ME-WHICH IS FRANKLY, IMPOSSIBLE.”

You chuckled, “okay.”

A waiter with piercing blue eyes approached the table, holding two plates, before placing them in front of both of you.

You thanked them, before looking back at Edge, who was staring at you. You raised an eyebrow in question, and he looked away.

Your plate consisted of French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs. Not bad.

Edge began eating his breakfast wordlessly, and you copied him. You wondered idly if Edge would scold you if you asked a waiter for maple syrup.

Deciding to try your luck you flagged down the person who served you earlier, “Yes ma’am, how can I help you?”

”Can I get some maple syrup for this please?”

”Right away.”

You could feel Edge burning holes into the side of your head. You met his gaze, “What? it’s not like your paying for it. It’s my breakfast.”

”YOUR GOING TO RUIN YOUR BODY! YOU NEED TO KEEP A BALANCED DIET!”

You shrugged, “Maybe I just wanted to improve myself?”

Edge was silent momentarily, “HUMANS ARE SUCH PITIFUL BEINGS.”

”Because of our diets?”

”FOR YOUR LACK OF RATIONALITY.”

You merely scoffed and thanked the waiter yet again before drowning the entire contents of your plate in syrup. “Oh well. When has rationality ever been fun?”

”WHEN DID FUN BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THEN COMMON SENSE?”

”Since humans said so?”

Edge rolled his pinpricks and continued eating. You dropped the topic and enjoyed the sugary taste of maple. 

You had gone through most of your plate before deciding to break the silence before it turned awkward. “So, you come here often?”

Edge looked up at you in surprise, obviously not expecting the silence to be broken. “NO, NOT REALLY.”

”You usually cook?”

”INDEED.”

“Who taught you how to cook?”

Edge didn’t reply, so you glanced up at him. “An old admirable friend of mine.”

”What was their name?”

”UNDYNE.”

Undyne? The same one Blue told you about?

”You were close?”

”VERY.”

You laughed, causing Edge to look up at you curiously, “Now your the one being vague,” you explained. 

“PERHAPS I DONT KNOW YOU WELL ENOUGH TO REVEAL SUCH INFORMATION TO YOU.”

”oh?” You tilted your head and grinned at him slyly, “suppose I will have to get to know you better then.”

”THAT WAS NOT AN INVITATION TO EVER SEE ME AGAIN.”

”But we’re already having breakfast together? I thought we were really getting somewhere,” you joked.

”PLEASE, THIS IS SIMPLE CURTESY.”

”Well then, perhaps we could exchange numbers-out of ‘curtesy’, of course.”

”YOU WISH TO GET MY NUMBER?! I’M AFRAID YOUR NOT QUITE ON MY LEVEL.”

”But you could teach me to be. That would be quite a remarkable achievement, dont you think?” At this point all you could do was appeal to his ego.

”...YES...PERHAPS...’THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE, TAIMER OF HUMANS’...”

That...wasn’t quite what you had in mind, but you could roll with it.

“ALRIGHT HUMAN! I AGREE! GIVE ME YOUR PHONE.”

You paused, taking out your phone and unlocking it, before placing it in is outstretched hand.

He typed something in, before handing it back to you. In your contacts was ‘EDGE THE GREAT’. 

“YOU ARE ‘VICTORIA’ CORRECT?”

You stiffened. Oh crap. He had heard that receptionist call you that. 

“Yup.” You replied hesitantly. He didn’t seem to notice.

He slipped if phone back away before sliding out of the booth. You did the same, pulling out your wallet and putting a bill that covered and tipped your meal.

”Well then, I suppose i’ll catch you later?”

”I SUPPOSE. BUT FOR THE RECORD, IT WOULD BE ME CATCHING YOU.”

Chuckling, you both exited the building. You gave Edge a lazy wave goodbye, and he hesitantly nodded at you, before you both parted ways.

Heading back to your car, you threw your bag in the passenger seat before heading home. You could give him a call then.

-

You gave your brother a call, but it went straight through to voicemail. You considered going over to his house, but decided you were just jumping to conclusions. 

You had ended up stopping at the store and getting groceries, as you were running low. Rodgers helped you unpack everything before you let him have the rest of the day off.

You had made sure to stock up on tomato sauce after you had witnesses him drinking it from the bottle. He appeared to really enjoy the stuff.

You had upped the dosages, meaning he was asleep most of the time, only ever awake when the effects started waring off every six hours. 

Rodgers had just given him another shot just before you got home, meaning you had a lot of time to kill before he woke up.

You didnt really have anything left on your plate, at the moment. All you could really do was weight for Henry to send that email to you.

Ash had taken on the task to do most of the work regarding Papyrus, all you really did is look after Sans. Not that you minded.

You stared around your kitchen. You now had free time. You werent hungry, so you couldnt cook. 

You were alone and Sans was asleep- so nobody to talk to. What did normal people do home alone?

All of a suddenly you felt very small in your large house, you left the room and played across the lounge. 

You suppose you could take a nap. You closed your eyes, and are greeted with a familiar darkness.

...

 

You remembered getting lost. You should have known better then to let   h e r   take you anywhere. Of course she wouldn't take the responsibility to pick you up.

You both walked for hours. Your legs and arms ached, your brother had fallen asleep in your arms ages ago. Your skin stung at the cold pinch of the night, you had given your jacket to him.

You were lost. You didnt know where to go. Shady figures passed you on the street, cars pulled over to offer you a ride home.

You could trust    n o   o n e.

Tears threatened to spill, but you swallowed your sadness. Tears wouldn't help the situation.

It only made you weak 

'Weak'

The word echoed in your head. 

You were weak.

You walked and walked and walked. How long had you walked? You were terrified. If someone were to try anything, you knew you couldnt do anything. You werent strong enough.

You were hopeless.

A police officer had pulled over and taken you two too the police station.  The officers there took good care of you, talked and treated you with a gentlness and sincerity alien to you. You didnt sleep all night, arms wrapped around your brother protectively. The people here appeared to be well intended, but you couldnt trust anyone in this world. You knew that better then anyone. You were there until late the next morning, before your mother showed up. You didnt want to leave.

You held your brother close, glaring at anyone and everything. At the world. You didn't trust anyone with him.

She had spoken to the officer.

It was your fault.

'Your fault'

You had run away. They were worried sick.

It was always your fault.

The police officer had scolded you, but you could tell he was a genuinely good person, that he meant well, so you didn't argue. It was good to know that there were still good people out there.

It was a rarity, nowadays.

You were in trouble when you had gotten home. 

You weren't allowed to see your brother, not allowed to go outside, locked away from the world.

You could hear your brother race down the hallway at night only to stop at your door. He couldnt get in. You couldnt sweep him off his feet, hold him close, protect him from them.

He cried and cried and banged on your door. Begged for you to let him in. All you could do was stand in front of your door, head resting on the wood and swallow your sobs. 

Hopeless

All you could do was whisper him tender reassurances, and sweet 'I love you's'.

Powerless

Then scream at him to go and hide as footsteps creeped upstairs, yell and plead for them to leave him alone as all you could do was hit you door and listen to them take him away.

Weak.

You failed.

Failed.

You were a failure.

You weren't good enough.

It was your fault.

It was always your fault.


	15. Chapter 15

Opening your eyes you roll over in your bed only to meet the floor.

Right. You had fallen asleep on the lounge. 

You stretched and rolled over onto your side. The floor was actually really comfortable. Or maybe you only thought that because you slept better on hard surfaces?

It was still dark outside, you had left the blinds open. You groggily sat up, running a hand through your hair that was slick with sweat. Staring around the room you attempt to motivate yourself to get up.

You felt sticky and could use a shower, but you didn't smell bad. You could shower in the morning, you just needed to go to bed.

Wait.

Sans.

You jolted to your feet. You had slept way too long. A lot longer then six hours. Quickly running to the kitchen you grabbed a bottle of tomato sauce and some other snack to give Sans before semi-sprinting to the basement door.

You slowed your pace as you went down the stairs, before sighing in relief as you find Sans still dead asleep.

Soundlessly you approached the bed, putting the items in your hands down next to the mattress for later before turning to leave.

"Heh. Thought you forgot about me for a moment."

Haulting in your tracks, you turn to face Sans who was staring at you from in his bed.

You imagined it must have been very annoying to be tied up the way he was. You would have felt minimally bad if it werent for the fact it was necessary.

"Yeah, sorry. Nap ran overtime."

"Happens to me all the time Bud'."

You nodded at him, letting out a low laugh before looking around the room, towards the table where you now kept the sedative.

Turning on the light you approached Sans, helping him sit up, as routine went, and untying his hands. 

You picked up the needle, filling it up with a sedative while Sans reached for his food. 

"Putting me back to sleep already? I like sleeping, but not that much."

You paused. You supposed he wouldn't be very tired, would he? You put the needle back down and walked over to him, sitting in front of him like the previous time.

"It's kinda stuffy in here, huh?" You note.

Sans shrugged, drinking from the tomato sauce bottle. "A little."

You looked around at the walls, satisfied when you find a poweroulet. "I'll have to bring a fan down here later then. And change your blankets," you eyed the sheets that entagled his body, sticky with sweat.

Sans gave no responce, and you werent looking for one. 

"You know, if we'd met on the street, i'd never of guessed you worked for the mafia."

You looked up at Sans curiously, "Why's that?"

He chuckled, "You saying if you met yourself on the street you could of guessed that they were keeping a skeleton locked up in their basement?"

You chuckled briefly before shrugging, "We all have our skeletons in our closests. Who am I to assume what someone is and isnt capable of?"

Sans grinned at your purposeful pun, "Heh. I just think it's humerus that someone who seems as naive as you is in the mob. Guess your not as marrow minded as I thought."

Grin growing you already know you can't come up with a good response to his puns, so you instead just chuckle. 

"Anyway, on a serious note. You don't seem half bad. At least not compared to other people in this line of work."

You nodded slowly. You wondered where this was coming from. You were also realizing just how much the effects of the sedative had really worn off. He seemed completely awake. It was time to put him back to sleep.

"So uh, guess I'm sorry for this?"

What?

"Well not really, you did kidnap me, and blackmail my bro. But I won't enjoy it?"

Realization struck you, head turning so fast you almost got whiplash, you noticed the needle being picked up in some sort of blue fire like glow, matching the one in Sans' eye socket.

It shot in your direction and you quickly dove out of the way.

Sans eyed you, one hand in the air directing the needle. You needed to restrain his hands.

You jumped towards Sans, syringe grazing your arm and back. Falling on top of Sans and pinning him to the mattress beneath you, reaching out for his hands and fighting for control.

You had the advantage, successfully pinning his hands to the bed above his skull. The skeleton beneath you breathed heavily, glaring daggers at you. From behind you, you could hear the clank of the needle hitting the ground.

"Heh, bud, if you dont get off me, your going to have a  b a d   t i m e."

You shifted in your position, staring down at the skeleton contemplatively. Something about Sans was too likeable to want to be mad at, so you instead said nothing. 

You now had to tie his hands back together, but the rope was too far away to reach without letting his hands go. 

Your knees cradled his ribs, your hands holding his wrists to the bed firmly, but in a way so as to not hurt him. Blankly you stared down meeting Sans gaze as you tried to come up with a solution. 

You realize you might have been staring too long when he dropped his gaze and attempted to look away from you.

You picked up one of Sans wrist, bringing his attention back to you, and put it on top of the other, holding both wrists with one hand. You carefully lifted your left leg and brought it over Sans, so you now sat next to him. You slowly untagled youself from both Sans and the sheets, holding his wrists while simulatously reaching for the ropes.

You leant forward over the bed, struggling to reach. You were so close, the ends of your fingers brushing the coarse material.

Further, further, you could feel yourself stretching. 

A sole finger looked around the rope, and pulled it up onto the bed. You turned back around to retie Sans' hands, who stared at the bed in defeat. 

After finishing your inspected your work, dropping his hands once you were satisfied.

"Sorry."

"You don't gotta pretend to be something your not."

You shrugged, getting up from the bed, and helping him lay back down before going to pick up the syringe. "In better circumstances, we probably could have been friends. So yeah, I'm just a little sorry that it has to be like this."

Before he had the chance to answer you gave him the injection. You watched until he slumped in his bed, pulling the blankets up to cover up to his chin before walking back upstairs-with the syringe.

You wouldn't be keeping them down there anymore.

You werent lying earlier either, but buisness was buisness.

-

Glancing down at your phones screen, you wonder if you should text Edge. That's what's friends did right?

Text each other?

You put it off for later on. You were going to muffets, where hopefully Stretch would also be, who would tell you all about how Blueberry had come back unharmed. 

It was wishful thinking, but you didn't care.

Staring at the menu, you decide you would try something different. Pondering your options, you held your chin, eyes running over the iced tea section.

You were forced to make a decision when the person in front of you finished ordering.

"Hey Muffet, how have you been?"

The woman hued at you cutely, "Very good Dear. What would you like today?"

Placing your order, you ensure to give an even extra tip. Not even Sans or Blueberry's smile could compare to the one that grew on her face as she collected the money.

You were pretty certain you were her favourite person currently.

She immediately served you and you thanked her, turning around to find a booth only to almost collide into someone's chest. Stretch's.

Huh. You hadnt noticed him enter.

Taking a step back to look up at the 7 foot skeleton you greeted him.

"Hey Stretch!"

"Hey F/n. How's it been?" He asked, reaching out and ruffling your hair. 

The casual display of affection momentarily threw you off, but you quickly regained your composure. "Pretty good. How about you? Any news with Blue?"

His smile fell, and you instantly knew the answer.

"You can go get whatever your eating, i'll go get a booth for us."

He nodded and you walked away, throwing him a quick glance before taking a seat.

It wasn't long before he slid in across from you, bottle of honey in hand. 

"So, no luck?"

He shook his head, he looked really crestfallen. 

"Have you gone to the police?"

"Course. They havent found anything either though."

You nodded, not touching your food. 

"He'll turn up. I know he will."

Except you don't.

Your attempt at cheering the skeleton worked somewhat, as a small grin returned to his face.

"Yeah. Blue ain't the type to just disappear forever. Knowing him he'll show up out of nowhere."

"That's the spirit."

The was a second of silence, before Stretch changed the topic, "Your items of choice aren't as sweet as they usually are," he said, refferring to your ice tea and quiche.

You shrugged, "Decided to try something new."

"And are you liking it?" He chuckled.

"Dont know yet," you replied, before lifting the slice of quiche to take a bite. 

You quickly washed down the taste of quiche with your tea, which frankly, wasnt that much better. Your features scrunched together. If you found quiche and ice tea individually bad, together was even worse.

Stretch wheezed at your sour expression, one hand on his stomach (or where it would be) and the other on the table.

Yeah. You think you'd stick with fruit pie over egg pie.

"You seem very eggstatic about that quiche huh? I can tea-l" Stretch joked.

"Yeah yeah laugh it up," you took another sip of ice tea, nose scrunching at the taste. 

"Well, if you insist."

Rolling your eyes you threw your head back to quickly finish it in one go, "Not what I meant."

"M'right."

You put the cup down on the table, before eyeing the bottle of honey curiously, "I don't think i've ever seen you eat or drink anything other then honey."

He shrugged, "It's a favourite."

"I can tell."

"Nyeheh, I don't make it very subtle, do I?"

"Not at all."

You found it very easy to talk to Stretch, he was very laid back and casual. Not very much alike his brother (in the laid back sense), but both were endearing in their own ways.

Perhaps Sans was right. There just were people you wouldnt have guessed would have done the things they do.

"So uh, don't mind if I got your number, do ya?"

Snapping out of your thoughts, you briefly looked surprised. The thought hadn't even crossed your mind.

"Yeah, sure," pulling out your phone you both exchanged numbers.

What was it with you and befriending the enemy? There was no way in hell any of this would play out well.

You saved Stretch's number as 'Honey' for the irony, causing you to smile at your phone. Stretch was occupied with putting your number in and didn't notice.

"Hey, look at me for a second."

You glanced up, about to ask 'why', when the shutter of his camera gave you all the explanation you needed.

"Heh," you tried to reach over to get a look at the photo but he kept moving the phone out of your vision, much to your dismay. You gave up, pouting in your seat and letting Stretch do his own thing.

He just laughed at you. Crossing your arms you glanced down at the remainders of your quiche. You suppose you would have to choke that down too.

Throwing it in your mouth you chewed quickly and swallowed even quicker. 

"Nyeh. You don't gotta eat it if you don't like it."

You shrugged.

You preferred to not waste your own food. Besides, it wasnt like it would kill you.

"Alright, suit yourself."

You glanced down at the time on your phone, it was only 10 in the morning. You didn't really have anything important to do, so you stayed and made idle chat with Stretch for another hour or so.

Overall, his company was pleasant.

-

Your brother had later given you a call, and you both spoke for a little while. It was good to catch up a little, especially when he told you the news.

You were invited to come out to dinner with both Ash and his girlfriend Yanny. He wanted you to finally meet her.

There was literally no way you would pass up the opportunity and quickly called Rodgers to ask him for a favour.

Thankfully, he was free.

You really needed to talk to your brother about giving him a holiday. 

Pulling apart you wardrobe you searched for something decent to wear. You doubted a hoodie would suffice.

Finding something, you laid it neatly on your bed, before going into the bathroom to take a shower. You made sure to wash your hair and use the scented body wash. You were keen on making a good impression on this 'Yanny', as you hoped she also was for you.

After getting dressed you quickly slipped on your mask to  give Sans another dosage before Rodgers got here.

You walked down the stairs, flipping the light on, Sans groggy gaze meeting yours.

"All dressed up?"

"Heh. Got to make a good impression."

"To someone important?"

"To someone that is important to someone important."

Sans chuckled, exhaustion heavy in his voice, "I get it."

You held up the needle to the light, making sure it was filled correctly, before Injecting it through his neck. 

A small bruise had formed on the side of his neck vertabre. You would have to start injecting it somewhere else.

It was a lot less stuffy and smelt much better after you had put a fan down here and changing the blankets you noted.

You listened to Sans' snores as you walked back upstairs. You met Rodgers at the door, breifly talking to him before leaving.

You were very eager to meet the girl your little brother was falling in love with. 

The bar-resturant you were going to was in silver cross territory, called 'Curiousity'. You had never been there, but it definitely sounded interesting.

You pull up and park outside a two storey building, painted a royal purple, and splashed with colourful lights. You had spotten your brothers car down the street a little, so you assumed he was already inside.

Making sure to bring all the required items you had with you, locking your car, you entered the building. The building had a lively buzz, lots of couples and groups of friends bunched together in corners or at tables.

Walking to the reception, they pointed you in the direction you needed to go, heading upstairs to the balcony. It didnt take you long to notice them.

Next to your brother was a short platnium blonde woman dressed in a pearl coloured thigh high dress and matching shoes. She clung to my brothers arm as they sat next to each other in their seats.

She was pretty.

You approached the table, greeted the two.

"Hey."

"F/n, good that you could come."

Your brother got up from his seat and pulled out yours for you. You thanked him before looking over to Yanny, who was smiling nervously at you.

"It's great to finally meet you Yanny, I've heard a lot of good things about you," you reasured. You also were put more at ease upon seeing her relax.

"Yeah, I can say the same. Your brother really looks up to you."

You glance at Ash, both of you sharing a warm smile, before redirecting your attention back to Yanny.

"So, Yanny, tell me about yourself."

Yanny shifted in her seat uncomfortably, before Ash took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Well, I'm 20, like your brother... I work part time at a cafe otherwise i'm a university student. My major is psychology...and um...my favourite colour is créme?"

You take note, making sure to memorize all the new found information. "Where do you go to university at?"

"Uh, Ebott Green yard Union?"

"Work?"

"Penny Prestigious, downtown."

You felt a someone kick you leg and you looked over at your brother, who was glaring daggers at you.

"Hey, slow down there Sis, no need to start interrogating her." He spoke casually, looking nervously at you.

Oops? Suppose you got a little carried away. You did interrogate and torture people for a living though.

"Haha, sorry," you apologized to Yanny, who didnt seem to mind.

"It's alright."

All three of you made idle chat for the rest of the night. Yanny's seemed nice, definitely someone you could get along with, you also learned a lot about her.

She was quite lively, but she was not the ordinary girl. She was quirky and bubbly, and very opinionated. It was interesting to listen to her rant on about various subjects over the night. She certainly knew what she was talking about.

You brother seemed very happy by her side, and vice versa, and in the end, that was enough for you. 

You bid the two goodnight, exchanging numbers with Yanny's before heading back home. You had ensured you only had a little to drink so you could still drive home. 

You drove home in a very good mood. A light buzz in the back of your mind to liven your spirits. Everything was going the way you wanted it too.


	16. Chapter 16

You are woken up by the chime of your Phone. Apparently you had a notification. You rolled over in your bed, not the lounge this time, and reached for your phone.

Almost dropping the device on your face, you squint as you read the message. You were pleasantly surprised to see it was from Stretch.

So one day after getting someones number wasnt too early to text them. Noted.

You would have to text Edge sometime soon then.

 

Honey

Morning Hun', sorry it's so early. You coming to Muffets this morning?

 

You glanced at the time, 10am. A grin grew on your face. Now this was someone you could get along with.

Lately you havent had as much work to do, meaning you have more of an opportunity to sleep in and do your own thing. It was good to take a bit of a break.

Even if you werent really.

 

You

Yeah, why?

 

Honey

I was getting a little bonely here all by myself

Plus some other chick sat down next to me and won't leave me alone.

 

You

What? She's not getting under your skin, is she?

 

Honey

Lol. But seriously, help.

 

You

Alright, I'll be there soon

 

You turned off your phone before getting up to get changed. Throwing on a hoodie and running into the bathroom to brush your teeth before running downstairs to tend to Sans.

You didn't stop long to talk to him, only replying with 'Good' when he asked you how last night went.

Sans was surprisingly casual about this whole situation. But then again, so was Blueberry.

Maybe it was a monster thing.

You raced downstairs, outside and out to the footpath. You lived close enough that you always walked to Muffets.

You had sped walked/jogged so the trip was only about five minutes. You wondered how Stretch was going and considered sending him a 'You still Alive?' Text as you made your way to the cafe.

Pushing ths glass door open, your eyes are immediately drawn to the bold orange colour of Stretches Hoodie.

You notice him instantly relax upon seeing you entering. Next to him, was a black haired female a little shorter then you, yapping happily to him about god knows what.

You approached the table, being able to hear the one sided conversation as you got closer.

"So  thats why I think monsters are actually cool. So like, whenever I see one, i just have to go up and say hi and be friends with them, because like not all humans are mean ya know? 

I mean, your pretty cool! I can't wait to tell my friends I met a skeleton! I mean, how awesome is that? Like, are there a lot of skeleton monsters?"

You slid in the seat across from Stretch, and that caught the girls attention. She looked over at you, before smiling warmly.

You raise a hand to give her a small wave when she decided to continue rambling again.

"Oh? Is this your girlfriend?!"

You both instantly tensed, you were about to correct her when she cut you off.

"That's so great! It's good to see monster-human relationships improving! I mean, me, personally, I don't think I would date a monster-not because I don't like them or anything, I just think i prefer humans? If that's not racist to say or anything."

Your ears struggle to register the nonsense that spilled out of this girls mouth, you could see why Stretch needed  help. 

He couldn't just tell her to go away, you could tell she was just trying to be nice after all. But god was listening to her a mind fuck.

"Uh, hey, I don't want to interrupt you, but uh, you are kinda interupting our date," you lied. If she thought you both were dating this would probably be the easiest way to get rid of her.

She gasped, like, genuinely gasped. Before abruptly getting up from her seat and standing in front of the table, "I'm like, so so so so SO Sorry! I didnt know! I would never have interupted if I had known! I mean-you know what? I'll just leave now! Bye!"

She spun on her heel and raced out the door, bell chiming behind her.

That was very...VERY strange. But you won't question it.

" 'Date', huh?"

You looked back at Stretch who was smirking smugly at you. 

Scoffing in reply you crossed your arms, "Your welcome."

His smile softened into a more genuine one, "Yeah thanks. She seemed to mean well, but she just couldn't stop talking."

You shrugged, "Anytime."

You inspected Stretch closer, dark bags had formed under his eye sockets, and instead of his usual honey was coffee. "So, haven't been sleeping?"

Stretch jolted, before scratching the back of his skull, "Nyeheh...well, i've just been really busy looking for Blue.“

"I see... Still nothing?"

He only nodded in reply.

Both of you fell into a silence, not really sure what to say next. Today you should be getting that email from the head of police, you could only hope it lead somewhere.

You'd seen the looks on people's faces when they talled about Gaster. They were petrified. You could only imagine the type of things Blueberry could be going through. 

If he wasnt already dust, that is.

Images of the silver powder that decorated the floors and mixed with blood flashed through your head but you gave no reaction. 

You had no real obligation to Blueberry, you reminded yourself. Even if you found him, what would you do then? You couldn't give him back to the White Phantoms.

This was too overly complicated for your liking.

"Well, do you have any leads?"

Stretch let a sigh, slumping even further in his seat, "No."

Tight lipped, you inspected Stretch. How were you supposed to comfort him? What were you supposed to say? You couldnt tell him your lead, he could never know who you really were.

God you were bad at this. 

"Want to go for a walk? Get your mind off of things?"

Stretch looked up to you thoughtfully, before agreeing. You both stood up and you walked to the door, holding it open for him.

Stretch snickered at your act of courtesy, "Why thank you, fine Madam."

Laughing along with him you let the door shut behind you, "Anytime, for a gentleman such as yourself."

Both of you walked down the pavement with easy-going smiles, no real destination in mind. There was lots to see, mainly quaint little cafe's and chique resturants, but all appealing to look at.

"How long have you lived around here?" You asked out of nowhere.

Stretch looked down at you curiously, before shrugging, "Since we got out of the underground."

Pausing, you wondered if you were discussing a sensitive topic. "Have you seen much of the surface?"

"Not really. The place is really big-A lot bigger than the underground. So this is enough for us for now."

"You don't want to explore?"

"Sure I do, but right now isnt a good time."

You fell quiet yet again, contemplating his answer. You wondered what type of places he'd like to visit. You wondered what it must of been like to have been trapped down their for so long. Wondered what the world must be like from his eyes. Whether it was more good or more bad. 

You were too curious for your own good.

"Have you traveled a lot?" 

You pondered his question. You were raised in the same house your entire childhood, never really went anywhere. Then you and your brother found yourselves in Ebott City, and never really left. 

"No, not really."

Your phone buzzed, you pulled it out of your pocket, and sure enough, there was the email. Haulting in your tracks you looked up to Stretch, repocketing your phone. "Sorry, i got to go. But i'll see you soon alright?"

"Nah it's alright. Later."

You nodded and began to walk back in the direction you had come from, "Good luck with things!" You waved back to him before turning a corner and walking out of his vision.

-

2327 Quaranta bay. That's where the car went. That's where Blueberry was taken last. 

Red, or whoever, was dropped off somewhere else previously, but Gaster and Blueberry went to the privately owned storage units, and only Gaster came back out.

This was it. You had found Blueberry. 

You drove to the gangs garage, you would need to swap cars, and someone to take with you-just in case. Pulling up, you were greeted by the few workers and mechanics inside. 

The car door slammed behind you and you looked around the shed. It smelt strongly of oil and fuel, grime decorating the walls.

A tall male with sandy blonde hair approached you, "How can we help you Stitches?"

"I need to use another car for this next trip. Also someone to back me up."

"Alright, i'll go grab you some keys. Lucky for you Dusty is free to help you out."

Nodding you waited by your car. Everybody appeared busy, fixing cars and pulling out equipment. Despite the low amount of people inside it was still quite noisy.

A silver and red haired man around your age started up one of the cars, signaling for you to get in. Hopping in the passangers seat, who you supposed was Dusty looked over to you, "So, where to?"

"2327 Quaranta bay."

"The storange units?"

You nodded, strapping on your seatbelt, Dusty doing the same, before you left the building. The drive would only be twenty minutes or so, and during the way, you lost yourself to your thoughts. 

What would you find? What if there was a back entrance and he was already gone? Or dead? Everything would be for nothing.

If he was dead, what would you say to Stretch? Would you tell him anything at all?

Creating a mental map of the area you tried to come up with possible areas where security could be and where you would need to avoid.

You played with your mask, fixing it properly on your face as you pulled up to the area.

Checking your gun was loaded and the safety off you both stepped out of the car at the same time. 2327. That's the number you needed to find.

You both walked between the all the storange units, counting the numbers and taking the appropriate turns. 

It was eerily silence, and it confirmed the both of you were indeed alone. 

2314, 2315, 2316...

You were getting closer. You senses highened and your blood set on fire in anticipation and nerves.

2327.

Found it.

Dusty soundlessly lifted his gun and aimed it at the lock, a loud pang piercing the silence. The lock fell off with a clang onto the concrete. 

Wrapping your fingers under the pull up door, you forced it open. Light shed into the room previously consumed in darkness. 

What you saw reminded you of some of the bloodiest torture sessions you had ever seen or participated in. A sticky silvery powder dusted the majority of the walls, a fine coat lathering the cold concrete ground. 

And right in the middle, back facing you and curled in a fetal position, was Blueberry. He looked about ready to dust.

Not hesitanting you moved swiftly to Blueberry's side, who was unresponsive. Lifting a hand you hesitate, afraid he would fall apart under your touch.

Swallowing your nerves you slipped a hand under his skull and another under his legs, picking him up in your arms, bridal style. 

Slowly his eyelids peeled open, one before the other. Recognition shone in his eyes, and under the heavy tone of exhaustion, relief graced his features.

You looked around, the room was a lot bigger on the inside, but other then a shattered wooden chair, it was empty.

"Close the door behind you," you instructed the other male, who complied without complaint.

You walked swiftly and with purpose. Currently your only focus was to get Blueberry help. You glanced down at Blueberry every few seconds, inspecting small fractures in his arms, legs and skull leaked the same powder that covered the storage room. It was sticky under your fingers, much alike human blood.

You found your car, Dusty holding the back door open for you. Blueberry shivered in your arms, and you all of a suddenly became aware of how underdressed he was.

A long white shirt stuck to his ribs and hung just under his waist, barley covering his pelvis, but he was otherwise naked. He looked unbelievably hollow and sickly, the complete opposite of the lively and excitable skeleton you previously knew. You couldnt have him going around like this.

Nodding at Dusty he left to go start up the car while you carefully laid Blueberry down on the plush back seats. 

Crap, you should have brought a pillow and blanket. You glanced around, the car was practically empty.

Not thinking twice you lifted your arms above your head, pulling your hoodie off and reaching over to Blueberry to help put it on him.

One hand slipped behind his ribs, and the other behind his head, lifting him up as you slipped the material over his skull and laying him back down. Crawling in the backseat you half hovered over the skeleton as you struggled to carefully slip his arms through the sleeves. 

Blueberry's eyes opened and closed, as he struggled to stay awake, focused on you the entire time, but he was otherwise unresponsive.

After slipping his arms through, you moved to exit the backseat when you felt a small, but still evident tug on your wrist. Eyes lowering you find Blueberry's hand wrapped weakly around your wrist. You paused, did he want you to stay with him?

You reached back and closed the door before settling in one of the seats by the window, slipping your seatbelt on, before lowering Blue's skull on your lap with care.

Dusty took off  undoubtably to the hospital, it looked like you would be paying Dr.Valvaldi another visit. 

The whole drive you kept one hand placed securely on his ribs, feeling them rise and fall as Blue breathed shallowly.

-

The moniter beeped steadily. Who knew a monster soul moniter was a thing?

Blue was dead asleep, chest rising and falling evenly.  You had gotten Blue a private room, away from everyone else.

Blue was much better, a solid 3/1HP, but was currently still exhausted, and would need to keep activity to a minimal for the next few days as his more physical form healed properly. 

The doctor said his fractures should all heal, except one particularly deep one on his forearm, which would apparently scar. 

Dusty was out in the parking lot having a cigarette. You considered sending him home, but you hadn't yet completely decided if you would stay with Blueberry overnight or take him home with you. 

Either way you werent leaving him alone.

Thankfully Dr Valvaldi sorted everything out, so no nurses or anyone came in asking any questions. 

What would you do from here?

You supposed you would have to return him to Stretch somehow, but then wouldn't both of them be on the run from Gaster?

Were you supposed to look after Blue until he made a full recovery? What were you supposed to do until then? 

You couldnt just let Stretch keep worrying sick about him. You would have to let him know somehow sometime soon.

Listening to Blueberry breath was oddly reassuring, but you werent a fool. You might have found him, but he was far from out of danger. Blueberry shifted, rolling over to his side, and you straighten in your seat.

Never mind, he was still asleep. You supposed he would be hungry when he woke up, and pulled out your phone to the ubereats app. Your sure he would appreciate some taco bell.

You ordered some food for both him and yourself, getting it delivered to your place. It would be there in half an hour. You guess that answered your question. 

Standing up from your seat you walked out of the room towards the reception. There stood one of the nurses, hair done up tightly in a bun.

"Hello, I would like to take the patient from room 9 home with me now."

"Oh, I'm sorry he's not allowed to leave just yet."

"I just talked to Dr.Valvaldi, he said it should be alright"

The nurse looked at you quizzically, "Okay? I'll just give him a call," she replied, picking up a phone and putting it to her ear.

You dont pay attention to her conversation, crossing your arms and looking around, inspecting the area. Lots of Nurses and doctors ran around, pushing patients on beds and wheelchairs. Just as many visitors navigated hallways, ducking in and out of rooms.

"Yes, alright, i'll just need to get you to fill out some paperwork."

Looking back to the nurse you nod at her, taking the pen from her and filling out everything with false information. 

"Alright, I'll send a nurse in to help you-"

"-No, it's okay," you interrupted her. She hesitantly nodded, and you took that as a que to walk away.

Walking back to the room, Blueberry was still sound asleep, and you hoped that you wouldnt accidently wake him up. 

Approaching the bed, you carefully pull out all the wires as gently as possible. Throwing the bed sheets away you retrieve you hoodie that was taken off of him and slip it back on over the hospital gown. Two hands slipping underneath him you held him close in your arms, stealing a pillow as you spun on your heel and left the room.

You recieved lots of strange and skeptical looks, but you kept your head low, and pulled the hood down over Blueberry's face further. Thankfully everybody had the decency to mind their own business and didnt try to stop or question you. Upon successfully getting to the carpark you find Dusty, scrolling through his phone and exhaling smoke.

"We're going," is all you say before crossing the road and locating your car. You put the pillow on one of the car seats, so Blueberry had something to rest his head on when he laid down.

Closing the door you hopped into the passenger seat, and Dusty started the ignition and started the trip back to your place.

You would have to get someone to go pick up your car in the morning.

The trip home was quiet, not that you minded. You felt a lot more at ease now that you knew where Blue was, and not just that, but having him with you-where he was safe.

You thanked Dusty as he pulled up in your driveway, before picking Blue up from the backseat and carrying him inside.

You dialed with your keys, finding it difficult to open a door with someone in your arms, but managed. Now the only dilemma was where you were going to put him.

This home didnt have a room designed for 'special guests' like the safehouse did. Did you put him in one of the Guestrooms and risk him waking up and doing who knows what? 

Welp. Guess he was sleeping in your room. It wouldnt be the first time you've had to sleep on the floor. 

Carrying him upstairs and to your room, you pulled back the sheets and tucked him in. You ensured he was in a comfortable position, and waited a moment, making sure he wouldn't wake up.

A knock sounded from downstairs, and you assumed that was the tacobell. Creeping downstairs as to not make too much noise you pulled open the front door.

...

Was that...Stretch?

"Uh? Stretch?"

The familiar skeleton looked equally surprised, before his expression morphed into a lazy grin.

"Heya F/N," He held up your food, "You've got quite the appetite."

You grinned, pulling out your wallet, "Heh, I have my brother over. I didn't know you worked for uber delivery?"

Stretch shrugged, giving you the food and taking the money, "I sometimes work odd jobs. Old habits die hard."

"Alright then, guess i'll see you later?"

"Suppose so."

You closed the door as calmly as possibly before resting your back against the door.

Holy SHIT.

Of course Stretch was the one to deliver your food. It was just your kind of luck.

Placing a hand over you chest you could feel your heart racing and you took a deep breath in and out. For a second you simultaneously had three skeleton in your house, all of which were unaware of the other two.

Wait.

Sans.

It has been (yet again) way over 6 hours. You obviously werent cut out for this type of responsibility. 

Bolting to the kitchen you dropped the food on the counter, you scrambled around the house until you retrieved the syringe and sprinted down to the basement.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Flicking the light on your heart clenched in your chest.

He was gone.

Of course he was gone, how could you be so forgetful?

Because you were occupied with Blueberry, thats why.

Inspecting the room, you noticed that there werent any ropes anywhere, meaning he probably just teleported away.

Which was a good thing, it meant he still didnt know where you lived and you were probably safe to stay here.

On the other hand, you just lost your main advantage over The White Phantoms.

Sighing, you pulled out your phone and texted your brother, informing him of the news, before wandering back upstairs.

You usually weren't this ineffiecient in your work. Then again, you have been faced with many distractions as of late. Various skeletons, to be more specific. 

You took the time to put the tacobell in the fridge for when Blueberry woke up before wandering back upstairs. Blueberry appeared to be resting peacefully when you closed the door behind you. You took a second to watch him shift in his spot, before moving to sit against the side of the bed next to him, head resting on the bedside table.

You were a little cold, but you had already sat down and couldnt bother to get back up to get a blanket. You were going to have the worst neck ache in the morning, you realized, not having the heart to take a pillow from Blue.

It was undoubtably the older sister part of you that made you this nuturing towards people. You generally think of it as a bit of a weakness when it's applied to people other then Ash, because the soft and weak didnt survive in this world. 

Thats kind of why Blueberry was in this position in the first place. He simply spilled information to you, you didn't even have to get physical. 

Then again, it was enough to bother you and make you go and hunt and rescue for him. You wondered how Blue must be faring mentally. You hoped he hadn't changed to much. You don't know if you could handle seeing another bright smile be stolen from someone. 

Not from Blueberry, at least.


	17. Chapter 17

Shadows decorated the walls. A heavy darkness filled the room. There was a silence so thick you were almost afraid to break it. The only noise being the gentle breathing of the skeleton who lay fast asleep behind you.  
You focused on his breathing, and on the dimness of the room. Your curtains were wound all the way down, so as to prevent any sunlight from seeping in.  
Warmth spread from your neck and down your spine, as Blueberry's face nuzzled in the back of your neck. You were hesitant to move, not wanting to risk disturbing him from his sleep.

You were right. Your neck killed for the angle you had slept on, and the temptation to stretch it was increasing dramatically by the minute. Closing your eyes-not that it made much of a difference, you focused purely on your surroundings.

You had found Blue, that was a plus. It would always be a plus, but Sans had gotten away. You had yet to tell your brother about the development.  
Crap. Right. You should probably do that.  
Pausing, you slowly and carefully moved your head forwards, and away from Blue. The warmth slipped away and the cold caused you to shiver. Movements calculated and soundless, you stood to your feet before creeping towards the door, and slipping outside. 

The house was once again quiet, as you had quickly grown accustomed too. Yet it seemed that just by having Blue's presence in the house, the whole atmosphere seemed much lighter.  
Only barely acknowledging that fact, you wandered downstairs to the kitchen, where you had dumped all your things from the night previously.   
Running a hand through your hair, your fingers got stuck on a few stubborn knots. With a huff you dropped your arm back to your side before running your eyes over the kitchen.

You had several notifications on your phone, some from Stretch (which you would read later or you'll get distracted), and another few just alerting you on the updates on your phone.  
Pressing onto your brothers contact, your thumb hovered over the dial button. As much as you'd love to talk to him (You would never get tired of listening to him), you honestly didnt know if you currently had it in you to make conversation.  
Instead just pressing onto messages, you formed an intelligable sentence in your head before beginning to type it down.

 

You  
To: Ash (Little demon)  
Heya bro. Just a quick update about the whole Sans situation.  
He's gone.  
I dont think he bothered to stick around and find out his location, so i should be fine to stay here. 

 

Dropping your arm, you haulted in your actions, before bringing the phone back up again to send another message.

 

And uh... love you bro

 

Eyes flickering to the time, you realized it was only seven in the morning. Turning your phone back off, you lifted your arms over your head, successfully popping both them and your back. 

With a satisfied smile you shuffled out of the room, pausing at the doorway. Glancing back at the fridge you idley wondered if you should warm up those Tacos for Blueberry. Shrugging to yourself, you decide to do so when he wakes up. He would probably be sleeping in for a another good few hours. 

Shuffling back upstairs, you realized that you had to go back into your room to grab a new change of clothes to shower. Glancing down at your current clothes, your   
hoodie was sticky with the silver glint of Monster blood. As pretty as the colour was, it was not a pleasant reminder of the previous events. 

Pushing the bedroom door open just a creak, a steam of light from the hallway flooded in, illuminating the skeleton who layed curled up in a ball against the sheets.   
He didnt appear to shift or begin to wake, so you ventured further into the room, only closing the door enough to stop the hallway light from shining on Blueberry's face. By pure muscle memory alone, you navigated the room, fingers fumbling on the draws as you strained your eyes to find new clothing to wear.  
Hands locating a soft material hoodie and what you could only assume was jeans, you scrambled quietly back outside as Blue sighed and turned in his sleep.  
You lingered outside the door momentarily, listening in to see if you had accidently woken him up. After a few moments, you were content with your findings and left towards the public house bathroom. 

You hadnt actually used any of the bathrooms other then your own, you realized as you entered the room. The click of the door shutting behind you echoed against the grey tiles.   
Stripping and dropping everything in your arms into the dry sink, you waited patiently for the water to warm up before stepping inside. Closing your eyes you enjoyed the sensation of hot water trailing down your back and shoulders and the steam that filled the room. Washing away the sweat, grim and the stress of yesterday.  
Relieved. You realized. You were relieved that Blue was safe, that he was here with you, where you knew he was safe.  
Pushing the thought to the back of your mind you let your thoughts go blank. And thats how you stayed for the next while. You were in a state of relaxation, not tense, guard down. You felt safe. You felt like everything that had or could ever happen simply didnt exist. It was just you, and your even breathing that somehow managed to be louder than the water that streamed passed your face and down your sides. Your thoughts were hazy, and your shoulders slumped as your forehead rested against the cold tiles. 

Jolting awake from your almost-asleep state, your head turned to face the light knocking on the bathroom door. You paused, thinking you had perhaps just imagined it, before it repeated, just as quiet as before.

"BOO?" Blueberry's familiar voice called quietly from outside the door.

Boo? Eyebrows forrowing in confusion, you twisted the taps off before stepping out and wrapping a fluffy blue towl around yourself.   
"Morning Blue. I'll be right out," you called back. 

What was he doing out of bed? He should be resting. 

Quickly drying yourself, limb by limb, you slipped on your new clothes. Hoodie sitting comfortably on your body and jeans hugging your waist.  
Comfortable clothes for the win.

Leaving the room, you looked up and down the hallway, before your eyes laid on Blueberry, who stood quietly with dark bags under his sockets waiting for you to notice him.

"You should be in bed," you stated, approaching the skeleton until you were within arms reach.

Blue grinned wearily up at you, smile heavy with exhaustion, "I DON'T THINK I CAN," he stated nervously.

Raising an eyebrow in question, your moved your arms to cross comfortably over your chest, "Why not?"

Blue paused, looking away from you and fiddling with his fingers as a subtle blue hue spread across his cheeks. "I-I... I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE..."

Pausing, you tried to come up with something to say. You supposed after what he'd gone through, you couldn't really blame him for wanting company. He really needed to sleep. But you couldnt just go and sleep with him.

With a sigh, purely out of habit your grabbed onto his wrist gently and began guiding him downstairs to the kitchen. You would warm up some Tacos for the both of you, and you supposed Blue could nap next to you as you both lazed around on the couch.  
From the corner of your eye you could see Blue inspecting his surroundings curiously. This was a different place then the one he stayed at previously, you wondered what he thought of it.  
It was defintely still pretty big, modern, and expensive looking, but it was nothing compared to the safehouse you previous were living at.

The home was pretty neat, you werent one to make much of a mess, but you added to your chore list that the place would need a bit of a clean sometime soon.  
Entering the kitchen, dropping your hand, you spun on your heel to face Blueberry. Blue let out a small yelp as you bent over to scoop your hands under his arms to lift him up onto the counter. Not catching Blue's surprised expression, you turned to pull the Taco's out of the fridge, putting several on two plates and popping them in the microwave.   
As you waited, you leaned against the counter across the room from Blue with your arms crossed. Neither of you said anything, although it appeared Blue was scrambling just to process everything.

Inspecting him closer, you concluded that he desperately need to rest, as you watched his head fall forward as he fell asleep, before jolting and startling himself awake again. The two of you could eat on the couch and watch mettaton.  
You personally didnt hold much interest for the robot or his shows, but Blue seemed insistent on watching them last time you had seen him. Deciding to spare the both of you from the awkward silence, you broke the ice, "How are you feeling?"

 

Blue chuckled quietly, before staring at you with mild amusement, "MWEHEH... I AM SURE YOU COULD GUESS..."

"Heh," you shrugged, you couldnt come up with anything better, "oops?"

"IT IS ALRIGHT. I AM DOING MUCH BETTER NOW BECAUSE OF YOU. THANK YOU."

You shrugged yet again, before turning to take the Tacos out of the microwave. Putting them on the bench, you picked Blue back up and ease him back to the floor.   
Somewhere in the back of your mind you were aware he could do that himself, but you couldnt help but feel protective of him. "What are pals for?"

Picking the plates back up, you let Blueberry follow behind you to the living room. Sitting on the lounge you made sure to leave plently of room for the skeleton, before putting his plate on his lap as he sat down.  
Blue seemed very content as he briefly stared down at the Tacos before beginning to eat them with a small moan of satisfaction.   
A ghost of a grin crept up on your lips at the sound as you took the first crunchy juicy bite of your own taco reaching over for the remote and flicking the TV on. Dropping the remote next to Blue, he took another bite of his taco before setting it back down on his plate and picking up the remote.  
As he chose one of the channels you noticed that Metatton had somehow managed to get even more popular during the time you last watched him. It wasnt a big deal to you, you really only watched Netflix anyway. You both watched in silence, putting your plates on the ground once you were done with them. (A habit you were still in the process of teaching Blueberry, always denying his requests to take the plates to the kitchen quickly).  
With mild interest you sunk further into the lounge, looking over to Blue only to notice that he already had dozed off. Head slumped on the armrest, and feet curled up close to himself, he looked very comfortable. Deciding to let him be, you turned back to face the TV again, letting him get some shut eye.  
-  
You and your brother exchanged hushed words to each other in the kitchen. He had originally came over to discuss the whole loosing Sans situation, but it seemed those plans changed. After letting him in he had quickly discovered Blueberry's presence (which you forgot to mention to him).  
He obviously didnt support your decison in taking him in. Not that you could blame him.

You had quickly ushered him into the kitchen so as to not wake the skeleton up, and now you both faced each other as your brother stared at you skeptically.  
"He's the enemy!" Your brother exclaimed quietly, hands flailing in the air.

"I'm aware."

"Then why is he asleep on the couch without supervision?"

"Because he isn't here as a prisoner this time."

Ash forrowed his eyebrows as he searched your expression before crossing his arms, "What?"

You paused, sighing, before lifting yourself to sit on the counter, "I know he's the enemy. I will be conscious of that fact, and make sure to keep a close eye on him. But he has just got out of a bad situation, and i want him here on friendlier terms."

Ash shook his head in disagreement, "I don't support that decision." 

A sigh escaped your lips, and you momentarily closed your eyes to regain your bearings, "Listen, Ash, i know what i'm doing. I know the risks that having him here poses. I'm going to be careful...  
I won't let you down again....okay?"

You didn't recieve an answer, you were hesitant to reopen your eyes to face your brother. A lump grew in your throat. You knew it.  
He was disappointed. Angry at you. You failed him. You let him down.  
Sans escaped, and it was all your fault.  
How was Ash supposed to trust you with anything if you couldn't even handle a simple task like that? Simple answer is; he can't.  
With gritted teeth you forced yourself to face him. To your shock he didn't appear mad or disappointed at all.  
"Alright. I trust you."

The words were quiet but firm. It reasurred you that all those thoughts that had just ran through your head were indeed, false. Body relaxing, you gave Ash a small shaky smile. Your body was jittery after all the nerves you had just experienced. You couldn't do or say much as you allowed yourself time to calm down.  
Deep breathes, and you were ready. "Thanks Ash. It means a lot."

Your brother merely scoffed at you, but you noticed the small grin tugging on his lips as he tried to look away from you. 

"Anyway, how have you and Yanny been?" You changed the topic to a lighter subject, you would hate to leave things between you on such a heavy note.

Ash jumped at the opportunity to talk about Yanny, a crooked toothy grin decorating his face as he rambled on about her.   
You laughed at his childish behaviour as he talked about Yanny with the enthusiam as a child who was discussing their favourite thing. He didn't pay any mind to the large grin that rivalled his own. 

God. Nothing made you happier to see your brother like this. If this was as good as life gets, you'd be the happiest person alive.  
Yanny seemed like an alright girl, you were generally a good judge of character, and you trusted her with your brother. Most of all you trusted your brother that he knew what he was doing.   
But in the very back of your mind, where all the darker, more dangerous thoughts lingered, was the intention to dismember Yanny limb by limb if she ever hurt him in anyway. If she-if anyone, ever broke your brothers heart, betrayed his trust like countless times before; you'd kill them.   
You swallowed your darker thoughts, shaking your head with gritted teeth before refocusing on your brother.  
Sometimes you scared yourself at just how capable you were. In all honesty, you've never been very trusting. But the person you truly trust the least, is and always has been yourself.  
-  
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. 

Back flattened against the wall your eyes briefly scanned the room before you found Blueberry's sleeping form.   
Without a second thought you marched over in his direction, pausing as you stood in front of the couch. As you ran your eys over his form you racked your mind for what you could possibly do. You needed to hide him!

You didnt want to simply jolt him awake, you needed to go about this more carefully. As another knock came through the door you decided to just go with it, carefully but hurredly scooping your hands underneath Blueberry, before lifting him up from where he laid.  
His head began to fall back, so you reajusted him in your arms to support his entire body as you rushed upstairs. 

Why the hell was Stretch here?

Crap. Those messages from earlier. You still hadn't read them. Jeez your life was in a state of total chaos right now, ever since you got involved with these darn skeletons.  
Maybe skeleton monsters where the magic equivalent of a bad omen? If that wasn't racist to say. (It was very racist).

Surprisingly, Blue didnt even seem to shift or stir in your arms, and you were momentarily concerned, stopping to make sure he was still breathing. After concluding that he was indeed still alive, and just exhausted, you half sprint to your bedroom, kicking the door open and out of your way.  
Shuffling towards the bed, you slowly lowered Blueberry to the bed, gently placing him down. Pulling the blanket up to his chin and ensuring his head was put in a comfortable position, you slipped out of the room, closing the door as silently as possible behind you.

Stretch was at the door. He was RIGHT outside. Of course as soon as you find Blueberry, Stretch decides to come visit.

God. This is karma for being too lazy to make your own tacos and instead just ordering them. That would have prevented this whole mess from happening in the first place. 

Ash had left a little while ago. Probably to Miranda state Park, his favourite place to go when he needs to clear his head. He's a man who can appreciate some peace and quiet occasionally. You weren't really sure if you should be relieved over the fact he was gone or not. If he was here he could stay with Blueberry and make sure he didnt leave the room, but being here he would more then likely end up finding out you had accidentally befriended the enemy. Again.

Things could turn ugly real fast if Stretch found out Blueberry was just upstairs, here, with you. You would probably have to kill Stretch if it came down to it.  
The thought was rather unpleasant. You had always found it easy to detach yourself from any situation-and usually any person, capable of doing horrors. But never, had you ever enjoyed it. 

Especially not to likeable, friendly people.

It always seemed people in this world got the opposite from what they deserved. The innocent are beaten and broken, while the cruel sit on their thrones, with their legacy of broken promises and bittersweet lies.

With a huff, you wandered where all this morbid thinking was stemming from. Perhaps seeing Bluebery in the state he was yesterday had shaken you up more then you thought?

Swinging the door open you flashed Stretch the friendliest smile you could muster, running a free hand through your tangled hair.  
"Heh, sorry i took so long. I was taking a nap."  
'  
Stretch waved you off, "Nah i get it. Gotta leave time for the more important things in life."

With a grin you tried to force down the lump in your throat. The thought that Blue was right upstairs, and could come down at any time really ate at your anxieties.  
Stepping out of the way, you invited Stretch in.  
"Oh uh, hope you don't mind me swinging by, i texted you earlier but you didnt answer."

"It's alright," you started, turning to face the skeleton who loomed over you as you closed the door behind you, "You can hang around for a bit. I've got a few things to do in an hour or so though."

"Thats alright, i'll just stay for a bit and then get out of your hair."

You rolled your eyes playfully at him, with a silly grin tugging on your lips as you lead him towards your lounge room.  
An hour. That was long enough to not sound suspicous but short enough that Blueberry would /hopefully/ still be asleep. He did seem out cold, so you should be safe. Probably.

Stretch immediately took the initiative to get comfortable on your lounge as soon as you entered the room. With an amused grin tugging on your lips you refrained from taking a seat next to him. "Do you want anything to eat? I haven't go much but I have left over tacos."

Moving his skull to turn and face you, he paused thoughtfully, "Yeah, I could eat."

Swiftly moving to the kitchen you re-warmed the leftover tacos, with Stretch on your mind. You just hoped this hour went by quickly. The suspense of not knowing how this might end was killing you. Spinning towards the cupboard you unconsciously grabbed a bottle of honey for Stretch to bring along with you.

Your skeletal visitor was still sprawled cosily against the lounge, his face tucked into one of the pillows. With a roll of your eyes you put his food down on the glass coffee table in front of him before taking a seat on another couch.

Looking up, his eye lights seem to glow brighter upon spotting the honey. He chuckled to himself before lazily reaching for it and taking a generous drink. "Thanks Hun, that was real /sweet/ of you."

With a short snort you readjusted in your seat, comfortably sitting one leg on top of the other, hands tucked away in your hoodies pockets. You were about to reply when Stretch began first.

"You know, Blue's favourite is taco's."

Tensing at the mention of Blueberry, you forced yourself to give Stretch a curious grin. You already knew that Blue loved tacos. It was less like a favourite and more like an addiction, funnily enough. "Huh, well, they are pretty good, can't put it past him."

"Nyeh."

Stretch's laugh was humourless, sour almost, as he munched slowly on the taco in his hand.

"How's finding Blue been?"

You still hadn't decided if you would somehow inform Stretch that you had found Blue, or how you would go about doing it if you did. What would happen if your gave Blue back?  
You can't just leave a gang, the only way out is through death-everybody knew that. Either Stretch would have to hand him over (Which you highly doubted he would) or they would both have to go on the run.

Whereas, if Blue were just to stay with you, he would be safer. Nobody but you an Ash knew where he was, you could protect him. You both were very influential and powerful figures, you could take him under your wing. But would Blue even want that?

Getting lost in your thoughts you only just barely register Stretch's sigh as he began to explain the situation to you. 

"The police haven't found anything. They're useless. I've put up signs and gotten people to look around. I have a few friends in the city he was suppose to be visiting and got them to check out the situation. Nothin." With a heavy sigh and a sombre look, one of his hands dived into his pockets as he pulled out a lighter and a packet of cigarettes. "Don't mind do ya?"

Waving him off you gestured the go, "Nah, go ahead," pausing to inspect his features, you continued, "It looks like you need it anyway."

"Nyeheh, something wrong with a way I look?"

Smile morphing into a lazy grin you sunk into the cushions, "Heh, you can't blame me for being concerned about your health. I mean look at you, your all skin and bones."

That seemed to do the trick, the tension and seriousness in the room vanishing as Stretch laughed genuinely, "Didn't see that one coming."

You merely grinned in reply.

After that the both of you continued to throw jokes and light comments between each other. It was easy to let your guard down around Stretch, and that was your main concern about him. This lanky laid back skeletal monster was good company, much like the other skeletons you had gotten to know so far.

Why was it that every time you found what could be friends, that something always had to happen and ruin it all? Why did they have to be apart of The White Phantoms? It was just your luck.

There was a heavy weight that formed in the pit of your stomach. You could feel it, something bad would come of this.  
There's no such thing as happy endings in this world.   
Realistically, sooner or later you would have to get down to business. You couldn't keep up with the whole housekeeper, friendly neighbourhood girl forever. 

But even if it is just for now, you may as well enjoy it. With an easy grin you glanced at the time. It had already been more then an hour. Informing Stretch of this you walked with him to the door and said your goodbyes. 

God, you just needed to go to bed. Despite not having done much, these heavy thoughts have been tiring you out. You weren't even hungry, you just needed to sleep.


End file.
